Cosca
by HamDemon
Summary: The twin daughters of a crime family are murdered and resurrected as assassins, but a strange twist of events forces the SWA to assign them to their most capable cyborg: Triela. Rated T for a possibly disturbing first chapter
1. Usurper

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gunslinger Girl or its characters, which were taken from the manga series of the same name, all of which are the property of their creator, Yu Aida. The characters Caterina, Celestina, Pio, and Lino are my creations. Any similarities to actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental._

**Cosca**

**Chapter 1: Usurper**

_I was named for the Heavens; the sun, the moon, and the stars. All of it. _The diminutive apparitional girl of ten years stood in a fluid white silk nightgown, contemplating her name and existence. Surrounded by anemones, asters, and gladiolus, her flowing blond hair fell to her waist and was endowed with a silver sheen from the moon. Her azure eyes glowed like a blue flame lit by the pinpoints of stars in the sky. Her light, fair skin seemed to glow in the pale darkness, making her a beacon of dull light shaped like a lean gymnast. _But what right does a devil have to name his child for the Heavens?_

"Celestina," a voice called to the girl softly, "You know Father gets upset when you stand outside in the middle of the night. And in Mother's flower garden no less."

The voice, crystalline, clear, and harmonious, its owner, and even the owner's clothing were an exact duplicate of Celestina's. However, not only was there a mole on the back of Celestina's neck that allowed people to differentiate between the two, there were subtle physical differences as well. Unlike the timid, unassuming Celestina, the second girl stood with a manner of arrogance, her hip thrown sideways, a hand placed thereon, and her head tilted slightly. Her small, pointed, beautiful elf-like features were twisted and shaped by mischief, with her eyes narrowed slightly, as if to constantly taunt everyone they gazed upon.

"Caterina…" Celestina said absentmindedly.

Caterina held out her hand to her twin sister. "Here," she said soothingly, "Let's go back to bed."

Celestina took her sister's hand and, stepping tenderly across the small field of flowers, allowed herself to be guided across the moonlit courtyard of their family's impressive manor, dotted with high arches, columns and buttresses. It was a dark, foreboding estate, especially in the obscurity of the night and by simply stepping through its colossal doors, one gets the feeling of being imprisoned. The twins lived this feeling as a reality.

They made their way through a series of tall, ornately decorated, unlit corridors. The moonlight streamed through the windows and threw up stretching, menacing shadows. The sound of footsteps bounced up and down the walls hollowly.

Both twins walked in perfect unison, side-by-side, and hand-in-hand. "Caterina…" Celestina's question trailed off doubtfully.

"Hmm?" the second responded.

"Will we grow… to do what Father does?"

"Most likely, Celestina, but that won't be for a while. After all, Father seems to want to hold on to the _Cosca_ for some time to come."

Celestina did not say anything to this, but made a thoughtless, doubtful mumble.

Sensing her sister's uncertainty, Caterina added, "And besides, Father is young yet, and with people like Lino protecting him, it is not likely that we will have to become involved in the _Cosca_ for some time."

"I do not trust Lino," Celestina said quietly, "And I am not concerned with the time between then and now. I don't _ever_ want to be involved in the _Cosca_. That is not the kind of life I would wish _my_ children to become involved in."

Caterina squeezed her sister's hand and said reassuringly, "I know, Celestina, I know, but there is nothing that can be done. We were born to control the _Cosca_ and repeat Father's sins, but it is such a long distance away that I cannot at all feel concerned with it."

The twins came upon a door in the corridor underneath which light leaked out. The darkness of everything else made it seem that the room was daylit on the inside. As they approached the door, the girls released each others hands. Caterina grasped the handle, opened the large, heavy, oak door, and bowed in a slightly cheeky manner, motioning for her sister to enter first.

Inside, the room was lit by candlelight, as most of the rooms in the manner were. Only the bathrooms, library, and entertainment rooms contained fluorescent lights. A group of men gathered around a desk behind which another man, slightly aged, graying, but otherwise still strong and healthy, sat. The twins stopped in their tracks when one of the standing men began yelling.

"We can't let anyone, especially not a small-time band of street rats, get away with disrespecting our territory!" Lino yelled. He was a tall, imposing, monster of a man in a black expensive silk suit with broad shoulders and thick arms and legs. His short black hair was slicked back and his harsh, Neanderthal-like features were contorted in rage.

The tired-looking, gray-haired man behind the desk replied, "Lino, we cannot afford to kill every trespasser and vandal that crosses our path. Not only do we have much more important matters to handle (for example, I seem to recall asking you to check into the background of our new 'shepherd' yet I haven't received any sort of report), but we also must accept the fact that these 'street rats' are much more than we think they are."

"That," Lino seethed, "Is because you do not regulate them as you should."

"'Regulate'?" the man behind the desk said skeptically, "I don't see how that's possible, unless you want me to parade our men across the streets like some kind of police force."

"My point is that you're going far too easy on these people. If you're not careful they will begin to organize and pose a real threat to us."

"It's just a protected business, Lino, there's no need to-"

"That 'protected business' was burned to the _ground_ Pio! If the people begin to doubt our ability to protect them, then they won't see any need to keep paying us for our services!"

Pio, the man behind the desk, sighed and said with a wave of his hand, "Enough, Lino, it is getting late and we all need our rest."

Lino was stunned. "Do _not_ dismiss me like th-"

"I said _enough_," Pio recapitulated firmly and with a commanding gaze.

Lino ground his teeth, turned toward the door with his men, and marched out with them, hardly giving Caterina and Celestina enough time to scramble out of their way.

"Father," Caterina asked worriedly, "What's wrong with Lino."

"Nothing, darling," Pio said wearily, "He has overworked himself lately, that is all."

The twins walked around opposite sides of their father's desk and kissed him simultaneously on his cheeks. "_Buonanotte_, _Babbo_," they said concurrently, "Good night, Daddy."

Pio stood, patting his daughters lightly on their heads and guided them out the door and down the hall. As they walked, Celestina said, "Daddy, I'm afraid of Lino."

"Oh, nonsense, _tesoro_," Pio said, playfully ruffling her hair, "Lino is our friend and he is to be trusted."

"But he has been losing his temper a lot lately," Caterina added.

"And the things he says when he thinks nobody can hear him are scary," Celestina said.

Pio became suddenly serious, "Now girls, Lino has worked for our family for years now. He protects us and helps us. We would not be where we are now if it was not for his help. There is a reason I appointed him as my right hand."

"Is he loyal to you, _Babbo_?" Celestina asked her father.

"What a strange question," Pio said smiling at his daughters, "Of course he is. He just needs to blow off some steam. Now stop worrying and go to bed."

Despite this reassurance, however, Celestina felt doubtful and consequentially, Caterina did as well. After all, Lino's men were loyal to him as well...

* * *

They awoke simultaneously to a strange sound, a repeating dull _thud!_ that was barely audible to them through the thick door and walls of their room. The twins paused sleepily to contemplate this sound, unsure of whether or not it was a figment of interrupted slumber or their dreams. Finally, as the sound became more insistent, they realized that it was a knocking at their bedroom door.

Both stood and shuffled tiredly across their dark bedroom to answer the knock. Celestina unlocked and unbolted the door and instantly the knocking stopped and was replaced by incoherent whispering on the other side. For unknown reasons, the twins felt apprehensive and hesitated, but decided to open the door anyway.

They were instantly seized and stuck repeatedly by strong hands, whisked away down the unlit, ornate halls of their home. A place once so familiar and ordinary to them had suddenly become a twisted, nightmarish copy.

The twins struggled futilely and were rewarded with cruel blows to their heads, their faces, and their torsos. They didn't try to scream. They knew only the halls would hear them.

Their captors took the two sisters downstairs from the pitch black hallways to the brightly lit grand hall, where they were thrown onto the hard stone floor and pinned there. They lay next to one another and could only see each other's faces, which were mere inches apart, as they weren't able to turn their heads. However, they could clearly hear their father yelling unintelligibly, with only a few words such as "release," "daughters," "murderer," and a large list of profanities that could be understood. The twins heard him struggling against unseen bonds and heard him struck by a blunt, probably metallic object.

A familiar voice sighed menacingly nearby. It was Lino. "I'm tired," he said in that hiss that he used to speak of treacherous things behind Pio's back, "Of trying to reason with you, old man." The twins could hear him pacing back and forth, most likely in front of their father who had fallen silent and was panting in pain. Lino continued, "If you don't want to protect this _Cosca_, then _I _will."

"Lino," Pio struggled to choke the words out, "You traitorous bastard. I don't care what you do with me, but please, for the love of God… let my daughters go."

Lino laughed cruelly and said, "But those two are part of the plan. I'm going to make you pay for holding us back for so long, and since I had to kill your beloved wife already, I'll just have to settle for killing your daughters before your very eyes."

The twins gasped and their father sobbed mournfully. "You should've kept her from drawing that gun under your pillow, _Padre_," Lino taunted Pio scornfully.

"Now," he said mischievously as the footsteps came closer to the girls, "Choose." The twins heard a clicking noise as Lino took his pistol from his holster and loaded it, aiming from one girl to the other, back and forth repeatedly.

Pio wailed pitifully, "No! I-I can't! I won't!"

"I said _choose_, old man, or we'll do much more than kill them." At this, Lino's henchmen laughed and Pio sobbed.

"Daddy!" both trembling twins called out in fear with teary eyes.

"Better hurry," Lino said tauntingly.

Pio shook his head and tried to think, but he knew he didn't have the time. He picked without any kind of consideration. "Caterina," he howled, devastated, "I love-"

However, before he could finish his goodbye, there was a gunshot. Celestina gasped and went limp as she saw her sister's eyes go blank and roll up, dark like two marbles embedded in her beautiful elfin face. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Celestina saw this without so much as a word, or a sob. There was the feeling that half of her had just disappeared, like part of her mind had just went dark in an instant.

Pio swore vehemently and grunted like an animal as he fought against his restraints. His struggles were clearly audible and obviously violent, but this worked only to make Lino laugh mockingly at his former employer's helplessness.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked rhetorically, smirking.

"Yes," Pio cried, hardly understandable.

"Do you want it to end?"

"Yes, please, just… just…"

"Well then, _Padrone_… just for you."

Celestina heard the gunshot but felt nothing, saw nothing as her mind went dark and she went to sleep…


	2. Assignment

**Chapter 2: Assignment**

The beautiful bronze-skinned blond, blue-eyed girl stepped quietly into her dorm room, hoping not to awaken the terror that lay dormant in the top bunk. She strained to listen, but could hear absolutely nothing. _I forgot_, she thought to herself in a panic, _Does she snore? Mmm… probably not…_

The weary cyborg crept into the unlit room, trying not to make a sound in her high black leather boots. Thankfully, she was only wearing a black silk miniskirt and matching long-sleeved shirt, which was considerably lighter than her typical jacket and formal men's attire. All the same, she held her breath for each little step with the blood pounding in her ears in concentration and focus. She had trained all her life for this moment, and there was no way she would allow herself to fail…

"Triela," a dark, humorless voice called in tired exasperation, "If you're going to come in, then please come in and be done with it. Oh, and can you turn on the light?"

Triela jumped and yelped in shock, a sound similar to a puppy's bark. "D-don't you want to sleep?" she stammered, recovering from her surprise and flipping the light switch to reveal a room filled with teddy bears and a number of books of many different genres and sizes scattered about.

"I did until you woke me up. Considering the circumstances, we might as well have a conversation. You're not jetlagged or feeling ill at all, are you?"

"No," Triela answered, shaking her head and thinking of how random the question was.

"Well in that case, sure, why not have a conversation?" Claes had by now sat up and put on her glasses after rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her long dark hair was draped over her shoulders and was thrown back as she stretched and yawned.

"Oh…" Triela mumbled glancing at the clock, "It's almost 0100. Do you really want to do this now?"

"And you don't?" Claes retorted, trying to trap her friend, "How… suspicious. You must have had quite a time in Naples."

Triela blushed, but hid it deftly and recovered quickly. "If you call almost being kidnapped 'having a time' then yes, I guess I did," she countered haughtily.

"Alright," Claes conceded, "Perhaps it's too early in the morning for that." She looked fondly at her friend who had her hands on her hips and her head thrown to the side in mock offence. "Have you had any withdrawal symptoms lately?"

Triela's defense immediately collapsed. Her arms dropped limply to her sides and her face took on an expression of doubtful concern. "About that…"

* * *

Jean Croce and Chief Lorenzo of Social Welfare Agency Section 2 stood side-by-side looking into a hospital room wherein lay two twin girls, unconscious and newly augmented with the Agency's cybernetic implants. Both men stared in intense contemplation through the glass observation window, trying to come up with a solution to their plight.

"Both of the handler's are dead?" Lorenzo asked Jean to clarify.

"Yes," came the ever cold, emotionless reply, "Apparently, the two of them went out for drinks to celebrate after their interview. Eyewitness reports say they were… racing on the highway when one of them caused a semi-truck to swerve, killing both of them instantly."

The Chief rubbed his temples in frustration. "Where did we find those idiots?" he hissed angrily.

"To be honest, sir, we've had to lower our standards quite a bit lately when it comes to choosing handlers. The scientists are creating more cyborgs than we can find suitable candidates for. They're being overzealous."

"It's all for the sake of advancement, Jean. These second generation cyborgs have proven to be quite successful and efficient. Their longer life expectancies make having more of them an investment for us, especially once all of the first generation girls are gone."

At this, Jean stiffened slightly, but otherwise showed no reaction. "With all due respect, sir, we should still do our utmost to ensure that only the most fitting operatives are admitted as handlers. The cyborgs are useless if they are paired with incompetents."

"No argument there," Lorenzo replied with a sigh, "At the very least, these girls haven't been conditioned yet, so finding replacements for their handlers shouldn't be a problem at all."

"It could take a while," Jean warned, "Especially scouting and the thorough evaluations can be tedious, but all are necessary if we are to find someone that can actually last in this career."

"What about Togni?"

"Marco should prove to be a suitable handler. However, he is on temporary leave. He felt the need to recover from the death of his cyborg, Angelica."

"Funny," Lorenzo observed slyly, "You don't sound as disgusted by that as you normally would. You did refer to the cyborgs as 'tools' to your brother once, didn't you?"

Jean replied, successfully sounding cool and unaffected, "That was some time ago. I've come to a few realizations since then."

"I won't bother you about it," the Chief said as they two of them entered his office. He sat down and found an unmarked folder on his desk. There were no labels or markings of any kind, save for a black circle stamped onto its tab, which indicated that the documents within required top clearance for viewing.

Lorenzo opened the folder and skimmed through it, reading to himself. Jean waited patiently, for he had already reviewed the dossier.

"Having two daughters from a crime family," Jean contemplated worriedly, "May pose some problems for us. Why didn't the original handlers we interviewed specify some kind of cosmetic change for the girls?"

Lorenzo answered in disgust, "They probably wanted to keep the girls as they are, treating them like human accessories. But besides that, the girls have never left their family's estate, so it is not likely for many people to have seen them."

"Still," Jean added, "Though it may be unlikely, there is a chance that Baldassare could get involved in something that the Agency would have to stick their fingers in…"

"Then in that case, the twins may get their chance for revenge and not even know it. There's no need to worry about anyone recognizing them, Jean. Our main concern is to find a second handler, since Togni is already on the list of possibilities."

"Like I said," Jean reiterated, "Scouting for a decent handler takes some time. There were only five or six of us total a few years ago, and we can't keep the cyborgs in a coma forever."

"What about assigning them to other handlers temporarily?"

"I would advise against that, as there is the likelihood of a connection developing between the twins and their temporary handlers. We always want to eliminate unnecessary conditioning from the equation."

The Chief drummed his fingers on his desk, sizing up the situation in his mind. It would be a waste if they could not find someone to take care of the twins while they searched for permanent handlers, but usually the handlers were the ones that took care of the cyborgs. _Priscilla would probably be more than happy to adopt them for a while_, he thought carefully, _But she's a data analyst. Exposing the twins to a non-combat work environment may make an impression on them. We need to find a field operative, someone that actually gets their hands dirty so that we can make their introduction to the field smoother. Maybe…_

Lorenzo sighed, finding no alternative to his idea and regretting that it ever crossed his mind. "Who," he asked Jean grimly, removing his glasses to rub his eyes wearily, "Is our best cyborg?"

* * *

Before Triela knew what was happening, Claes had produced a steaming ceramic kettle of tea, a plate of homemade lemon tea cakes, and three filled teacups, placing all of these on the circular table in their room. The petite, doll-like Henrietta was happily spooning copious amounts of sugar into her cup, looking as bright-eyed and cheerful as ever, despite getting out of bed only an hour-and-a-half after midnight.

"Wait a minute!" Triela exclaimed to Henrietta in surprise, "When did _you_ get here?! Why aren't you in bed?!"

Henrietta smiled innocently and replied sweetly, "I woke up to go to the restroom and on my way back I saw the light on in here."

"It looks like you brushed your hair," Claes observed, wincing.

Henrietta nodded fervently, "Mm-hmm, I didn't want to barge in looking a mess, especially with Triela looking so nice."

"Aw, thank you Etta! Here, try one of Claes' tea cakes. She tells me it's a new recipe!"

"Hey," Claes mumbled nonplussed, throwing a narrow-eyed side glance at Triela, "You changed your mind too quickly…"

"Triela," Henrietta said, nibbling on a cake, "How did things go in Naples?"

"It was, well… how do I say this…" Triela suddenly became serious because she was debating in her mind whether or not to protect Henrietta from the truth. The truth was that she was dying, fading out in a pathetic wisp rather than going out in the aftermath of one last explosion as would be expected of her. She gritted her teeth.

Claes noticed her friend's anxiety. After living with her for years, she was able to pick up the subtle hints that indicated some kind of internal struggle within Triela; the slight flush in her face, the lack of eye contact, and the fact that one of her hands was hidden underneath the table in order to conceal a tight, trembling fist. She hid her stress well as there was no change in her countenance, but she couldn't fool her roommate. However, Claes didn't interfere. Instead, she sipped her tea coldly and nonchalantly, curiously awaiting the outcome of the struggle.

Triela suddenly smiled brightly and said, "It was fun! I… I had my first kiss!"

Henrietta gasped at first, amazed, but then she squealed in excitement and went off in a torrent of questions fueled by sugar and astonishment.

Claes, on the other hand, was more inwardly affected by the news, as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened almost comically and twitched slightly. Her hand gripping her tea cup had slowly begun to droop halfway between the saucer and her mouth, spilling its contents onto her nightgown like a caramel-covered waterfall, however, she didn't notice. Whatever vestige of calm and collectedness she had was gone, but nonetheless, deep inside, she was disappointed with her friend's choice…

* * *

"What do you think of her?" Chief Lorenzo inquired to Jean, still regretting the idea that he had implicitly voiced aloud.

Jean replied, equally doubtful, but also equally sure that this was their only option, "She has the most spotless record of anyone here. She's responsible, caring, and has the most adult outlook on her situation."

"Well that's all very nice, but… perhaps we should consider a second generation cyborg?" Lorenzo wondered, unsure of what to do.

"With all due respect, sir," Jean countered, "The problem with most of the cyborgs, especially the second generation, is that they behave appropriately for their age. She, on the other hand, does not."

"You're defending her quite avidly," the Chief noted.

"Sir, if she wasn't a cyborg, I would be inclined to offer her a job here."

"Well, that _is_ saying a lot. You speak very highly of her. Do you have that much confidence in this girl?"

"I have confidence in her abilities and in the idea that she is the best candidate for this experiment."

"Hmm," the Chief mused, "Yes… why not make this an… 'experiment'?"

"I do have to say one thing, sir," Jean added as a warning.

"What is it, Jean?"

"Well, taking into account Angelica's lifespan and the marked deteriorations leading up to the end of it, the doctors have predicted that Triela is likely nearing the end of her life."

"Do you think this is true?"

"Hilshire has reported some troubling symptoms."

Lorenzo leaned back in his chair, tired from the so-far sleepless night. "All the same," he said exhaustedly, "She is our best chance. And besides that, this should be an interesting experience for all of us."

Jean sighed, but couldn't argue. "…Agreed," he said after a slight pause, finally showing a hint of fatigue in his voice, "I'll inform Triela of her duties tomorrow."


	3. Job Interview

**Chapter 3: Job Interview**

Jean leaned casually but seriously against the clean white hallway, facing a closed door beyond which Dr. Bianchi was performing a thorough and lengthy psychological evaluation on Triela.

After catching up with her on her way to the dining room, Jean had told Triela secretively that he needed to discuss something sensitive with her, and although reasonably suspicious, she obeyed and followed him to Bianchi's office. Jean stubbornly refused to answer any of her questions on the way there, even when Triela threatened to walk away and get her breakfast.

"She's hardheaded, I'll give her that," Jean huffed quietly to himself at the memory. The hallway was utterly lifeless, so there was no need to worry about being overheard, "She might actually be able to pull this off."

Finally, after an hour of waiting, the door before Jean swung open and Dr. Bianchi, somewhat portly but friendly and warm, slipped out.

"What do you think?" Jean asked quietly and confidentially.

The doctor replied, "Despite some of the concerns about her remaining lifespan, Triela is still mentally strong. She is displaying some of the amnesiac symptoms as Angelica, but in her case, it's nowhere near as severe. Triela is still able to hold onto the most vital and crucial memories in her head. She is even able to remember some of her previous targets."

"Well," Jean said in relief, "It seems like she'll qualify after all. Assuming you believe she's ready?"

Bianchi nodded carefully. "As we all already knew, Triela is incredibly mature for her age. However, she was never trained or conditioned to act as a handler, only to obey her own. Because of this, I'm concerned for her."

"She takes care of the other girls well enough."

"Helping a friend in need with personal problems and training them to become field operatives are two completely different things. I shouldn't need to tell you how difficult it is to be there for a cyborg as a brother, father, _and_ teacher simultaneously."

"Each handler is different," Jean said sternly, becoming impatient and pushing past Dr. Bianchi. He gripped the doorknob and added, "If Triela shows results, then the handler replacements we find will have a head-start in training the twins. If she fails, well… we can always just let the new handlers take it from the top."

Jean opened the door to Bianchi's office and poked his head in. Inside, Triela was examining her teeth in the one-way window, but jumped and turned abruptly, stiff and upright, when she noticed the door opening.

"Triela," Jean said commandingly, "Come with me."

The pair made their way down the hallway toward the infirmary, leaving Dr. Bianchi shaking his head, worried for the Princess of the SWA…

* * *

"Celestina and Caterina Alvise, twin daughters of the amateur mafia boss Pio Alvise," Jean summarized aloud as he and Triela walked swiftly down the many identical halls of the Social Welfare Agency, "Involved mainly in human and drug trafficking as well as extortion. Twins born and raised on their family's estate in Terni, rumored never to have stepped foot outside the gates of their home. Their family was murdered, assumingly by their father's second-in-command, Lino Baldassare, based on his absence at the scene and the lack of evidence suggesting an attack from an outside enemy."

Triela struggled to keep up with Jean's long strides. "So the Agency's picked up twin cyborgs? What does that have to do with me?"

"Forgive me," Jean said in a rare, yet emotionless apology, "I'm doing this out of order. Last week, the bodies of the Alvise family were recovered from their estate less than an hour after their murder. The twins were barely alive and were brought here where their lives were saved. Seeing an opportunity, the Agency converted them into cyborgs without first allowing potential handlers to choose them, which is what we normally do. They were perfect candidates, after all. No family, no friends, and no connections to the outside world."

"What about Baldassare?" Triela asked. She jogged slightly to catch up again.

"He's what we call a 'small fish'," Jean answered coldly. "Anyway, three days ago the Agency found two possible handlers for the girls and we interviewed and approved them yesterday. Later that night, they were killed in a drunken car accident."

Suddenly, Triela stopped and fell behind, forcing Jean to cease his speed-walk and turn toward her. "So…" she asked, nervous to hear the answer, "What do you want with me?"

"You will act as a handler for the twins until we can perform proper scouting procedures and find a replacement. Marco Togni is already a possible choice, but he's on temporary leave."

"Je – um, sir," Triela protested, stunned by the idea that the Agency would want to put her in such a position, "I'm not cut out for that kind of thing. I'm more of a big sister than a big brother."

"Triela," Jean tried reasoning with her, "You are the only possible choice for this. The Chief and I have considered other possibilities and we both agreed that this would be the best option."

Triela considered this for a moment. She had no problem waxing philosophical with Claes or talking romance with Henrietta, but actually being an official caretaker – a handler – was a daunting concept. _Well_, she reasoned with herself, _I can't just abandon those twins. I guess I'll do it for them_. "What would I have to do?" she asked, allowing her consent to remain implied.

Jean answered, hiding his relief behind his usual deadpan mask, "You will take on all of the responsibilities of a handler, except conditioning of course, because the twins have only been given their duties. However, that still leaves you with training regiments, weapon selection, evaluations, and mission reports."

"M-mission reports?!" Triela exclaimed in disbelief, "I thought I was just going to watch over these girls until you found someone to take them off my hands!"

Jean responded coolly, "Seeing as this will be a unique Fratello, you may find that together, the twins have unique abilities or specialties that no other cyborg or pair of cyborgs is capable of. Should these abilities have some use to us, then of course we'll require you to provide them."

"But, but…" Triela started. She stopped however, exhaling and seeming very much like a balloon deflating right before the point of bursting. The two of them continued toward the infirmary, slower this time as they were close to their destination. There was no use arguing with Jean on the matter of her obligations, so she pursued another issue. "What did you say about their conditioning?"

"For most second generation cyborgs, information about their duties, their handlers, and their weapons are implanted into their minds before they are placed into their handlers' care. However, because the twins' potential handlers were killed and their weapons have not yet been selected, only the information concerning their duties to the Agency has been given to them."

"Will the fact that I'm not their real handler affect their obedience to me?"

"That is likely. However I will tell you this, Triela. An effective handler commands both the loyalty and obedience of his cyborg. Loyalty is simple to obtain, as it only requires that both the handler and cyborg understand each other. The more time you spend with the twins, especially outside of training, the more loyal they will be to you. Obedience, however, is more difficult and can be obtained either through fear or love. The former is simpler and quicker, but alienates and confuses the cyborg. The latter tends to be more expensive, but also makes for a stronger bond between cyborg and handler. We'll leave it up to you to decide how best to interact with the twins."

Although grateful for the advice and impressed with Jean's knowledge of the dynamics of Fratello relationships, Triela confessed quietly and despairingly, "I think this is a mistake. I can help with their personal problems, but teaching them how to kill is beyond me. I don't know how I do it myself, it just comes naturally now. I've forgotten how I was taught; I only remember what I was taught, why, and how to use it."

Without realizing it, the pair had stopped in front of a closed recovery room where the twins were waiting inside. No sound or signs of life could be detected from outside the door. Jean hesitated to enter the room and introduce Triela, the new handler, to her cyborgs. He felt he needed to ease her nerves a bit first. "You'll be okay," he said in a surprisingly soothing manner, "All handlers start off scared. It's something that always begins as unfamiliar and alien, no matter who you are."

"Thank you, Jean," Triela mumbled, somewhat relieved at this bit of comfort. However, whether Jean was lying to make her feel better, she wasn't sure. She didn't care much either. No matter what anyone said, she was going to be scared. She decided to ask one more question. "What's the hardest part of being a handler?"

Jean thought for a moment and then answered slowly and wisely, "There are two. The obvious one is saying goodbye, as it's like losing a little sister. The second, more unexpected one is meeting them." He began saying this as he opened the door and concluded as he pushed Triela into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Wait!" Triela called out, turning around. It was too late of course, so she decided to face the music. She scanned the room and found that it was unlit and the shades were drawn, making it a very dreary and admittedly frightening place. The room was empty save for the usual furnishings of a hospital. In the center of the room, against the far wall, there were too beds on which two silent figures with identical blank blue eyes stared at Triela hauntingly, watching her.

"He-hello…" Triela stammered nervously. If it weren't for the unsettling atmosphere and the cold blue gazes, she would have been able to come off more warmly, as she usually does. However, something was different about this situation, and most notably these girls. They were not like the others.

"I'm… Triela," she continued futilely, still getting no response "I'll be taking care of you for a while." Suddenly, the vacant azure stares changed as the twins' eyes narrowed ever so slightly. The change was subtle, but there was no mistaking it. The girls were scowling at Triela.

She noticed this, flinching a little bit. _Uh oh…_


	4. Changed

**Chapter 4: Changed**

Triela withstood the angry twins' gazes for several long seconds, confused about what had offended them and unsure how to tackle the situation. After a while, she decided to exorcise the demons from the room by walking over to the windows behind the beds (she tried not to cringe away from the girls noticeably as she did so) and opening the blinds, letting in the sunlight and dispelling the mystifying, hostile aura within the room. Now that she was back in her social element, Triela was regaining her confidence.

For the first time she was able to look at the twins carefully, although the way they still stared at her made her doubt whether or not she wanted to. Both were truly identical, and both were incredibly beautiful. Describing them as "dolls" would not suffice. They were closer to angels; angry, scary cyborg angels.

Triela resisted the sudden and powerful urge to pat the closest twin on the head for fear of losing her hand. She continued to try to be friendly. "So," she said brightly, "You two are Celestia and Catherine."

"Celestina," the closer one grunted without humor.

"Caterina," the farther twin corrected an instant after, using an identical tone.

_Damn!_ Triela inwardly cursed herself, fearfully taking a step back. "I-I'm sorry, I'm usually good with names!" she said aloud, following with a nervous laugh. Something about these twins was throwing her off, making her lose her focus. Was she actually being _intimidated_?!

Despite her mistake and pathetic attempt at a recovery, neither twin changed their expressions. _Well, at least they don't seem any angrier,_ Triela thought_._

"Ugh," the farther twin (Caterina?) grunted, "Cel, I'm getting tired of scaring her. It's too easy." She stopped scowling, lay back, and turned away from Triela, drawing the covers over herself. "Wake me up when she's gone, alright _sorella_?"

The closer twin, Celestina, turned to Triela, no longer scowling and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said, "Scaring you was Caterina's idea. We thought it would be funny."

Triela could only stare in disbelief. _It was a joke? A prank? They don't really hate me?_ In any case, Triela thankfully found Celestina to be charming and amiable enough now that she had stopped scowling. Caterina on the other hand…

"Unfortunately," Celestina continued, sounding suddenly and inexplicably spiteful, yet retaining her sweet, innocent countenance, "It was a lot more boring than I thought it would be. I hope you're a better handler than a hostess."

_Whoa_, Triela thought to herself, getting increasingly surprised and impatient, _Where the hell did _that_ come from?!_ However, she managed to calm herself down. Triela didn't let Elsa de Sica get to her in the past, no matter how arrogant that girl became, and she definitely wasn't going to go off on her own cyborgs. She decided to keep playing the warm, friendly card, "O…kay, why don't we all calm down and try again. I'm Triela and-"

"And you'll be taking care of us for a while," Caterina finished for her impudently without even turning over to face Triela, "We understand all of that perfectly. We just think you're… how do I put this… too jumpy to be telling us what to do."

_So it wasn't a prank_, Triela thought to herself in amazement, _It was a test! _"Alright," she laughed, hiding her shock, "I guess I for fell for that, but since we're going to be working together, why don't the three of us try to be a little friendlier to each other?"

Celestina looked over at her sister's back. _So we're going to drive her away?_

Her sister answered without turning around, _No, now that I think about it, chasing her off would probably land us with someone more difficult to handle. She should be okay for the moment._

_Agreed_, Celestina concluded. "Ma'am?" she decided to relay this decision, turning to Triela, "We're sorry for putting you through this. We've decided to accept you…" and then, with a small, poisonous, imp-like smile she added, "…for now."

_Yeah, right_, Triela scoffed in her head, and then aloud said confusedly, "Wait, when did you decide that? And why?" She was getting suspicious. So far, the Alvise Twins appeared to be the kind of manipulative, insidious people that always have an ulterior motive.

Caterina sat up and both girls got out of their beds simultaneously. They shrugged together and answered in perfect unison, dismissing the questions absentmindedly, "No reason."

* * *

"Alright," Triela said to the twins as they left the infirmary, "Since both of you are still probably getting used to your prosthetics, today we'll be selecting your firearms and going over safety and maintenance."

The twins, following slightly behind Triela, glanced at each other and grimaced. Then, Caterina said in protest, "The Agency's already given us rudimentary firearm knowledge."

"Key word being 'rudimentary'," Triela retorted, "And besides that, I don't believe you. Jean told me that you haven't received your weapons conditioning yet."

"What happened to 'working together' and 'getting along'?" Celestina asked, outraged.

"Don't get me wrong, I still want to work and get along with both of you," Triela answered flatly, "I just don't trust you yet, and I'm sure you don't trust me. I have an actual reason, though, because the two of you may look like the cutest little porcelain dolls ever made, but you act like… let's just say you act at a subhuman level."

The twins shared another glance, this time both rolling their eyes. Triela's 'doll' comment was likely sparked by the fact that they were wearing identical white dresses recovered from their family's estate and because of this everyone that crossed the trio's path stopped and stared, most likely wondering if they were looking at live humans or some experiment by the SWA scientific staff. In actuality, both were at least somewhat true.

After leaving the hospital wing and main building of the Agency, the trio found themselves outside in the courtyard. It was still early morning and the sun was still hidden behind large, gray clouds, the grass still damp with dew, and the air still chilly, cold, and wet. The twins shivered in their light, insulation-starved dresses.

"Hey, Triela!" a voice called out behind them. The group turned to see an approaching man wearing a dark leather jacket and jeans, with straight black hair framing his stubble-covered face.

"Amadeo," Triela said, more as a greeting than anything else.

The man smiled good-humoredly and commented, "Well, well, it looks like our little Princess has found herself two beautiful young handmaidens."

As they heard this, the twins glanced at each other once more and smirked in a dark, sinister fashion.

Noticing this, Triela began to panic. "No!" she cried out to no one in particular, "Why would you call me that?!"

Mistaking her tone for simple embarrassment, Amadeo laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax," he said, "You know it's just the pet name that the Agency's staff have for you. That's just how much we all love you."

Triela hung her head slightly. _Never mind_, she thought to herself in a comically despairing way, _You wouldn't understand_.

"Hey," Amadeo continued, "I heard about your new job."

"Well," Triela responded doubtfully, glancing at the twins, "It's become more of an assignment than a job, really."

"All the same, I wanted to wish you good luck. Me and the other non-handler staff were talking about it and we all agreed that no one else could manage to train two cyborgs at once. We're all sure you'll do great, though."

"Give everyone my thanks. Oh, and speaking of the two cyborgs, this is Celestina and Caterina."

"Actually, I'm Celestina."

"And I'm Caterina," the twins laughed innocently, putting on their masks and reintroducing themselves in the correct order. That is, the reverse order that Triela had done it.

Triela made a face and said cryptically, "They're… quite a handful, I'll tell you that."

"I'm sure they are," Amadeo laughed shaking the twins' hands. "You two are lucky. You get to be trained by our most talented girl. She'll take good care of you."

"We know," the twins said simultaneously in a sickeningly sweet manner.

Suddenly, Caterina tugged on Triela's arm and, to her horror, said, "Come on _Princess_, you promised us a lecture about guns!"

Celestina joined in, tugging on Triela's other arm, "I want to hear a lecture too, _Princess_!"

Triela hid her frustration as well as the twins hid their spite when she said, "S-sorry Amadeo, I have to take these squirts and lec-" she was cut off as the twins jerked her arms exceptionally hard at the "squirts" comment, "-Lecture them about the way to handle their inner demons – I mean chosen weapons!" The "demons" remark earned Triela a few more powerful tugs, but truthfully, it was worth it. The trio continued to walk across the courtyard toward the Agency's armory.

Amadeo watched them leave, the twins dragging Triela in whatever direction she was facing and she simply revolving herself, letting the girls move the group for her. "They're getting along really well already," he said to himself, smiling.

* * *

Hours later, the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, bathing everything in orange and pink. The moon was already visible, eagerly waiting to take over.

Claes sat at the table in her dorm reading about eggplants, a hot kettle of tea before her. She quietly took a sip from her own steaming cup as she flipped to the next page with her free thumb. She then realized with surprise that she had finished the book and so set it down and picked up another one about eggplant recipes.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Triela shambled in, hunched over from the fatigue that was the result of answering constant, intentionally stupid questions and being called "Princess" once every few seconds. She dragged her feet over to the chair opposite Claes and flopped down, dropping her head on the hard wood with a _Thump!_

Claes calmly steadied her teacup without spilling a drop or putting on any emotion. She then poured another one and passed it across the table to Triela, who took it slowly and sipped it. "Hard day at work?" Claes asked simply, focusing once again on her eggplant recipes.

"You don't even know," Triela answered tiredly, "I'm wiped out. Those twins… they're… they're… wait a minute, how did you know I was 'at work'?" She became suddenly attentive.

"Jean told me; told me to take it easy on you for a while."

"Huh," Triela scoffed, "Well after meeting the twins I don't think there's anything you can do to bug me."

"Are they that bad?"

"As I was saying, they're _monsters_!" Triela began to ramble quickly, "At first glance, you'd think that Caterina is the worst because she's openly arrogant and disrespectful, but I personally think Celestina is the eviler one! She pretends to be innocent and sweet and even when she's insulting you she does it in a polite, quiet tone. I mean honestly-"

Claes stopped her with a raised palm. "I get it," she said impatiently, "You had a hard day, but please try making your stories with a beginning, middle, and end."

Triela leaned back in her chair, arms folded behind her head. "Sorry," she said, cooling off with a short huff of her breath. She thought for a while about the twins and the way they acted. Both were rude, rotten, and all-around horrible, but something in their eyes didn't suit them. She didn't think it was possible for anyone to have eyes as beautiful as theirs and be so mean. Their hair was long, silky and shiny, their skin was fair, soft, and radiant, and those dresses they wore…

"I wonder," Triela contemplated quietly, "What makes those two so angry?"


	5. Shared Property

**Chapter 5: Shared Property**

_Where_ _the hell _is _she?! _Caterina wondered impatiently as she reassembled her Tuma MTE .224 VA machine pistol for the sixth time. She and her sister were waiting for Triela's arrival in their assigned dorm room, which was still stark, unfurnished, and uncolored. The only furniture in the room was a circular table at its center (at which the twins were currently sitting) a dresser and wardrobe containing only a fraction of their total collection of clothing, and a pair of standard beds with goose-feather sheets and uncomfortable spring mattresses placed close together, side-by-side.

"You do know I'm sitting right next to you, don't you?" Celestina responded to her sister's mental outburst whilst absentmindedly skimming through the operator's manual for her Zastava CZ 05, "Won't you just, you know, _talk_ to me?"

"It's a habit, Cel. You know I like to keep everything in my head."

"Well," Caterina stated quietly, distantly, "It's not just _your_ head where you're keeping these things, remember?"

"I know, I know. I'll keep that in mind from now on, though it's not like I can do anything about it." After this, neither twin spoke, as both were absorbed in their actions. The only sounds in the room were the flipping of pages and the clicking together of firearm parts. Caterina put down her gun after putting it back together twice more, but Celestina kept up her reading.

"How many times are you going to look through that?" Caterina asked, seeking to break the silence.

"It's the only reading material we have right now, and reading is the only thing I can do in this room to save myself from boredom."

"Why don't you actually try putting your weapon in your hands so you can study it closer? Once you take a more careful look at it, it's actually a lot more interesting than the pictures."

"It's easier for me to learn this way. I'm not a 'hands-on' person like you. I prefer to keep things… impersonal."

Caterina shrugged. "I may not understand why you feel that way," she said, smiling at their differing opinions, "But then again, I know you don't understand either."

Suddenly, both twins perked up at the distant sound of footsteps in the hall, a sound which would be inaudible for normal, unenhanced ears. _It's her, isn't it?_ Celestina asked without really looking for an answer.

Caterina, however, was happy to provide the redundant response, _How would I know? Whoever it is, though, it sounds like they're wearing pretty heavy boots, so it's _probably_ her._

At that moment the door opened and Triela walked in, beaming pleasantly. "_Buongiorno_, girls," she greeted them warmly, "Studying hard, I see. That's good."

Caterina and Celestina glanced at one another, suspicious of Triela's sweetness, especially after her horrid experience with them yesterday. _What's she trying to pull?_ Caterina asked.

Celestina replied slowly and cautiously, _I don't know. I can't read her._

_What do you mean you 'can't read her'?! _Caterina protested.

_We've only known Triela for a few hours, what do you expect?_

_Fine,_ Caterina huffed and then asked aloud, "Are you… feeling okay, Princess?"

Triela stood in front of the doorway in her black leather jacket and typical formal men's clothing, still smiling with her hands on her hips. "Me?" she said sounding like a bit of an airhead, "I'm fine. If you're wondering why I'm being so nice, though, it's because I've been reading through your files and I've decided to be a fair, reasonable handler."

_Looks like she's got us figured out, Cel,_ Caterina commented.

_That can be changed, Cat,_ Celestina responded slyly. She questioned Triela in a tone that made it obvious that she was ignoring her previous comment, "So, where are we going today?"

"Well," Triela answered, inwardly thankful that the Twins didn't want to investigate her behavior any further, "Today is my handler's day off, and he's out and about doing God knows what, so I figured instead of training and working we could do something fun and get to know each other a little more. How does that sound?"

"It sounds to me like you're just being lazy," Caterina answered arrogantly, "Either that, or you still haven't figured out a training regiment."

"I'll admit, I don't know yet how your training will go," Triela said slightly embarrassed, "But what I have planned for today will be good for us as well, so… come on." She smiled once more and motioned for the twins to follow her as she turned to leave.

Celestina sighed and said acquiescently to her sister, "We might as well, right _sorella?_"

"After you, dear sister," Caterina responded politely as they both rose and Celestina took the lead.

* * *

"So," Triela said excitedly with the Alvise Twins in tow, slightly hunched and looking extremely bored, "The Agency's recently installed a game room, but we could also set up some makeshift goals and play _calcio_ with some of the other girls who have nothing to do. I think Jose's also on his day off, meaning Henrietta should be free today. She may not look like it, but she has quite a kick."

"We don't know if you saw, but yesterday when the Agency brought us our clothes, we ended up having to unload over a dozen boxes of dresses," Caterina said.

"Apparently," her sister added, "We weren't very athletic in our past lives."

"Don't worry about it," Triela reassured them, "I'm sure we could find someone here who wears your sizes; Beatrice, maybe, or Rico. Probably even Angeli-" She stopped suddenly.

The Twins' eyebrows rose curiously as their handler's sentence was cut short with a choke. "What?" they both questioned vaguely.

"N-nothing," Triela replied unconvincingly, unable to shake the look of pensive concern on her face, "I was just saying we could probably find some… leftover clothes for you to wear."

The Twins shared a glance. _What do you think?_ Caterina wondered, seeing a possible opportunity to pester their superior.

_Leave it,_ Celestina responded, _Whatever that was just now is none of our concern, so we shouldn't poke into it any further._

At this point the trio crossed paths with Henrietta, who seemed to be on her way back from doing her laundry. Triela's mood changed instantly as she stopped her friend with a friendly greeting and began rifling through her hamper. "H-hey!" Henrietta protested, blushing as her friend turned over undergarments and pajamas in search of something.

"Hmm…" Triela said absentmindedly, taking no heed of her friend's discomfort, "Here it is!" She pulled out two track pants near the bottom of the pile and held them at arms length, sizing them up. "They look perfect!" she exclaimed after a while. She handed the pants to the Twins, who took them up doubtfully and observed them warily.

"What are you doing?!" Henrietta asked Triela indignantly without bothering to take back her stolen clothes.

Triela answered, seeming not to notice Henrietta's embarrassment, "We're going to play 'soccer' as the Americans call it. Care to join us, champion striker?"

Henrietta was still pouting slightly, but at the thought of playing a game (any game, really) with friends was something she just couldn't resist. Still, she tried to play reluctant, "I don't really have a choice now since you have my clothes. I'll play _one _game, okay?"

"Great! Let's all go get changed and meet up in the courtyard."

* * *

Half an hour later, both Alvise twins were making their ways to the designated meeting place wearing identical navy blue track suits to shield themselves from the cold, damp autumn courtyard. "Are you any good at this game?" Celestina asked her sister.

"I don't know," Caterina answered doubtfully, "Why, are you?"

Celestina shrugged and said, "I don't know if either of us has ever played."

"It can't be that hard, right? All you have to do is kick the ball into the net."

"I think you're oversimplifying… things…" Celestina trailed off as the courtyard came into sight where two old, rickety goals had been set up a good thirty meters or so apart. However, it wasn't the distance, or the poor condition of the goals that caused their jaws to drop. What stunned them was watching Triela and Henrietta warming up. Their handler, who had traded in her formal ensemble for a pair of black shorts and a shirt with matching gloves, was positioned in front of the goal post, squatting slightly in absolute concentration and preparation. Henrietta, on the other hand, had one foot on the ball, and both hands on her hips, looking serene as she planned her attack on Triela's mark.

Suddenly, without warning, Henrietta's leg flashed back, then forward within a fragment of a moment. The ball flew just as quickly in a slanted arc, and looked as if it would elude Triela; however, she jumped up high, twirling gracefully in the air and swinging her leg with perfect accuracy so that it struck the spherical projectile, sending it flying far across the makeshift field and into the opposing goal. Triela landed skillfully, laughed and called out to the Twins, "Which one of you wants to be on my team?"

The Twins looked at each other and thought on the idea. Finally, Celestina said, "Alright, you get Princess and I'll keep the goal for Henrietta."

"Don't worry," Triela said confidently to her teammate (though she refrained from naming her, as she still had trouble differentiating between the twins), "We'll beat them, no problem."

"Let's just play to five," Henrietta said as she retrieved the ball, "Lunch is coming up soon and I still have to fold my laundry."

Celestina took her place in front of the goal opposite Triela's. She nodded when she felt ready and Henrietta placed the ball in the center of the playing field. She and Caterina stepped back to stand next to their partners. Everyone was tense and ready to play.

Suddenly, both Caterina and Henrietta surged forward as fast as they could toward the ball. The former proved to be quicker, reaching the ball and maneuvering clumsily around the latter, only managing to do so because dew caused Henrietta's leather boots to slip. Caterina's balanced was just barely maintained as well, but she rushed to the goal that her sister was guarding.

"Go, go, go!" Triela cheered excitedly for her partner.

Caterina closed the distance between her and Celestina, until finally she kicked the ball rather weakly because of the wet grass. However, Thanks to the momentum of her sprint, it flew well and accurately enough.

However, Celestina dashed sideways and swatted the ball away. "That was weak!" she taunted her sister playfully.

"Really?" Caterina retorted after catching the ball again, "Then how about _this_?!" she punted the ball once more, and once more her sister stopped it, sending it back to her.

This process repeated itself, speeding up as it went on. Caterina would kick and Celestina would block and return the ball. Both were truly absorbed in the game now. Whatever reservations they had with playing were gone. As a result, though, Henrietta and Triela were left to stand back and watch. Soon, the ball was no longer touching the ground at all as it was passed fluidly and rapidly from one twin to another.

"It's like both know what the other's going to do before they even do it," Henrietta commented in amazement.

"I actually think that that's exactly what's going on," Triela said, "Making this a game of endurance, rather than skill."

After a full ten minutes of nonstop kicking and returning at full strength, both Alvise twins were dead tired, flushed, sweating, and panting. Caterina had the ball, but she held it, trying to regain her energy.

"Aren't we… wasting our… time?" Celestina huffed tiredly as she wiped her forehead with her sleeve. "We can't score… against each other…"

"Yeah…" Caterina answered, nodding, "…I know. But that's not… going to stop me!" She took what little energy she had left and concentrated all of it into one final, furious kick which sent the ball toward Celestina like a blurry white cannonball.

Celestina lined herself up with the ball's path, lifted her leg, and brought it down ferociously as she swung her fist as hard as she could. There was a brief feeling of contact, and then an explosion as the ball burst from the accumulated force of the blows inflicted upon it. The flat, deflated bag that remained wrapped itself around Celestina's fist and stuck to it like a large, misshapen glove.

Both twins stared dully, their minds too tired to comprehend what had just happened. Finally, due to exhaustion both fell simultaneously onto their backs in the grass, thankful for the cool dew. "We're done," they mumbled simultaneously.

Henrietta watched with her mouth slightly open. "Are they okay?" she asked, concernedly.

Triela, however, could not provide an answer. She could hardly even breathe as she fell over, laughing.


	6. Teamwork

**Chapter 6: Teamwork**

"Mm…" The Alvise twins mumbled sleepily as they awoke simultaneously. They raised their heads and rolled their tongues around a bit to dampen their dry mouths. Both girls found themselves sprawled awkwardly on their beds, almost tangled in a mess of sheets, pillows, and limbs.

Celestina pushed her sister's leg off of her chest as she sat up on the edge of her bed to rub her eyes. "…What happened?" she asked in confusion.

"I don't know," Caterina replied, "But my head feels like…" she trailed off and remained silent for several seconds.

"Like what?" Celestina asked, inexplicably irritable.

"…I don't know. I can't even think."

"Yeah. Obviously." Celestina was too tired to dodge the pillow which she knew was going to be flung, but she managed to fire it back lazily over her shoulder.

At that moment, the door of their room was opened and a prudish, bespectacled girl entered. She was only a few years older than them, but looked much more mature than that, likely because of her frown and the slight crinkle of her eyebrows as she coldly scanned the room from left to right, stopping at the twins.

"I'm surprised the two of you made it all the way back here. Both of you look terrible," she commented plainly. Something in her voice sounded like disdain, or something that would indicate that the Twins had wronged her in some way. However, neither could recall ever talking with this girl before.

Despite her unwelcoming tone, though, she spoke the truth. Both girls had fallen asleep in the dresses that they had worn yesterday, their hair was ruffled and stuck out here and there in patches, and their faces were pale and drawn from exhaustion.

"Who are you?" Caterina grunted as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Seriously?" the girl said incredulously. When the Twins nodded, she tried to jump their memories. She pointed to herself and said, "I'm Claes. Triela's roommate. I made you tea yesterday."

The Twins exchanged glances, both mentally agreeing that they couldn't recall ever meeting their guest.

Claes shook her head impatiently, giving up. "I suppose it only makes sense," she sighed, "After all, Triela's in the shower right now coming down from _her_ sugar high and she was fairly tame last night compared to the two of you."

It was then that flashes of memories returned to the Twins. Memories of tea and sweets. Lots of sweets. "Oh…" Caterina said, embarrassed.

"We… ate all of your candy, didn't we?" Celestina finished for her sister in the same tone.

Claes nodded. "And my cookies. Plus, you used up all of my sugar. At first I thought somebody had slipped something into your tea, but I tried some of the leftovers after all of you passed out. I didn't think it was possible, but all of the insanity from last night was fueled purely by glucose." she huffed again, calming herself. "It's alright though," she said, conquering the urge to be angry, "I can always restock. It's not as if I paid for any of those things myself."

"So…" Caterina asked, feeling as if a storm had just passed, "Why are you here?"

"Triela sent me," Claes answered, "She wanted me to tell you to get dressed in those clothes you stole from Etta yesterday."

"The track suits? Why?" Celestina questioned, sounding a bit concerned.

Claes shrugged, "Triela said she was going to 'give you a workout.'"

Another glance was exchanged between sisters. _Great,_ they both thought, sarcastically.

* * *

"Alright, girls," Triela said, full of her usual energy and warmth, showing no indication of ever having a sugar high, "Since we had so much fun yesterday, we have to work _extra_ hard today." As she said this, she paced back and forth in front of the Twins, who were almost limp from boredom and sleeplessness.

Accompanying Triela was a tall, handsome man with short dark hair. He had introduced himself to the Twins as "Hilshire, Triela's handler." Just by looking, one could tell that he was a strong, capable person, whom Triela clearly drew her confidence from.

"Now, girls, I want you to…" Triela paused, unsure of what exactly to do. She turned to her handler to consult with her handler. Caterina and Celestina rolled their eyes.

"Should I do twenty?" they could hear Triela whisper.

"What? No, that's too many," Hilshire answered.

"Fifteen, then?"

"Just start with ten."

"Alright, alright," Triela conceded, and then, to the Twins, said, "I want you to warm up with ten laps around the dormitories."

_Warm up?!_ Caterina thought in outrage, _We can barely _stand_!_

_Well,_ Celestina tried consoling her sister, _At the very least it should wake us up a bit._

* * *

Ten laps later the Alvise Twins found themselves slightly more fatigued than they had expected. Apparently their sweetly-induced hangover was affecting their abilities quite a bit. Nonetheless, Triela insisted on taking her cyborgs to the Agency's outdoor obstacle course.

"I want both of you to complete the course as fast as you can," she ordered, "I'll be timing you, of course. No cheating, understand?"

The Twins groaned and set off immediately with Caterina leading, vaulting up several small platforms to traverse an unusually tall climbing frame. They moved quickly and proficiently, despite their conditions. However, because the fatigue was affecting her judgment and sense of timing, Celestina slipped. Her sister reacted instantly, reaching back, catching Celestina's arm, and swinging her down and up, lightly tossing her to the perfect position to seamlessly continue their run.

"Impressive," Hilshire commented, "It's hard to believe they received their cybernetics just recently. They're in perfect sync."

"They always are," Triela said, "I'm surprised they don't finish each other's sentences."

The Twins had reached the climbing wall. They leapt up for an extra boost, grasping separate ropes and ascending rapidly. Celestina reached the top of the wall first, ignoring the substantial height, gripped the top of her sister's rope and aided her climb by pulling her up. When Caterina was close enough, her sister grasped her hand and pulled her to stand at the wall's peak. Together, they jumped down from the wall to a raised balancing platform. Now they were truly warmed up, their sugar highs had been worked out moments ago, leaving their bodies and minds unhindered by the obstructions they faced earlier that morning.

"They seem to form an incredibly cohesive team," Hilshire mused, "Complementing each other flawlessly. Whatever weakness one girl has is covered for by the other."

"It seems like Caterina prefers a closer, more destructive approach, though," Triela said, "And Celestina prefers doing things with as few shots fired as possible."

"How have they decided that already? They haven't even fired their weapons yet."

"I don't know," Triela sighed, "There's a lot about these girls that I still don't understand, even after reading their dossier."

"You shouldn't have too many problems with them," Hilshire reassured her, "They seem to be far ahead in terms of abilities than any beginner I've seen. Even you weren't this good when you first started."

"I still don't think I'd be able to keep up with them," Triela responded grimly, "Even in my prime."

"What's that mean?"

"You know what it means." Triela avoided looking into her handler's eyes. She looked anywhere, everywhere but at him. "Don't pretend like you haven't noticed what's happening to me."

"Triela, why don't you stop worrying about the future and start worrying about what's going on now? You're a handler now, and your problems aren't the only ones that you have to take into consideration."

"So because you're _my_ handler, you should be listening to me and considering my problems at this very moment, right? Well, you're doing a _fantastic_ job."

Hilshire sighed deeply. "It's not as if I don't want to talk with you about these things. You're troubled. I understand perfectly. I'm troubled as well. But you have to remember that we can't deal with the future during the present. We have to wait until the future _becomes_ the present."

"Hilshire…" Triela whispered as an anchor to keep her from feeling lost, helpless; from breaking down the dam that was stopping all of the raging, swirling emotions in her head. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and finally she looked up into her handler's eyes. She felt the storm within her dissipate.

"When that happens, Triela," he said soothingly, "I know you'll face it with the same strength, confidence, and rebelliousness that you always have."

She thought on the matter for several seconds, until she decided that Hilshire was right. She couldn't be concerned with the unborn moments in her life because she had to occupy herself with the little, newborn things; the everyday things that made her life worthwhile. Most of all, however, she had two little girls to think about.

"You always say the right things," Triela said, cheering up, "Well… not always, actually, but still, you're pretty close most of the time."

Hilshire laughed, "It's because I know you well. It's what makes us a good team. A lot like the way your girls operate. Speaking of whom…"

Caterina and Celestina had finished the course and approached their handler, sweating and panting. They both doubled over, barely able to stand up straight. "There," they said, "How did we do?"

Triela looked at her stopwatch. "Not bad," she said, showing no hint of the emotions that she had felt during her conversation with Hilshire, "But you can do better. You_ will_ do better, eventually. I'll make sure of that."

"_Urrà_," Celestina said sardonically, "What else do you want us to do, Princess?"

"Do you have a pool?" Caterina added just as bitterly, "We could do laps."

"No," Triela answered sweetly as if the questions just posed were serious, "That's enough for now. Let's take a break for lunch, shall we?"

The Twins gritted their teeth, frustrated at their inability to vex their handler the way they were able to upon first meeting her. It was as if she had adapted to them, and had become impervious to their methods.

_Maybe that's why the Agency assigned her to us,_ Celestina theorized.

Triela and Hilshire walked some distance ahead of the Twins, who were unable to keep up after having exerted themselves so much in such a short time. For the first time, Hilshire thought about the Alvise Twins. He noticed a considerable difference in Triela's behavior when they were around. Without them, Triela's mind seemed to wander and worry. However, when they were nearby, Triela's sense of humor returned, and she was able to smile. _Maybe these girls are good for you after all,_ Hilshire pondered, _If the three of you don't kill each other, that is…_


	7. Smooth Pickup

**Chapter 7: Smooth Pickup**

"So," Claes said as she poured steaming tea into two plain porcelain cups, "Triela tells me that the two of you have developed over the past week into exceptional operatives. How are the madeleines, Celestina?" She passed the cups across her table to her two guests.

"They're perfect," Celestina answered brightly after swallowing a small nibble of one of the buttery, petite, shell-shaped cakes, "Try one, _sorella_."

"_Grazie_," Caterina told her sister as she took the madeleine offered to her, "What else did the Princess say about us, Claes?"

Claes sipped her tea and calmly placed the cup and its saucer down before her before answering. "Well, she tells me that both of you are quick learners and you work together very well. Using her words, she says that you move 'as one' in perfect harmony."

"That can't be all," Celestina responded doubtfully as she reached for another cake, "She must have given us _some_ criticism."

With a careless wave of her hand, Claes answered, "It's all the usual things that Triela complains to me about: you don't follow directions too well, you don't have any respect for authority, you use unorthodox methods, et cetera, et cetera." Then, Claes leaned across the table and whispered mischievously, "Also, she still has trouble telling you apart."

The Twins giggled in amusement. "That's because of the new game we came up with," Caterina said, "It drives her mad!"

"Game?" Claes said interrogatively, highly interested and just as entertained by the idea as the other two girls in the room.

Celestina explained enthusiastically, "My sister and I usually wear identical dresses (they're all we have, you see), but we wear our hair differently to fool Triela into thinking we want her to be able to tell us apart."

"Sometimes when she turns her back or loses sight of us, though," Caterina continued, "We switch hairstyles, but still respond to our proper names."

Claes shook her head, smiling. "You're terrible," she laughed, "Both of you." They all chuckled for a little while and afterwards Claes asked the Twins, "Are you nervous about your first assignment?"

"No," they both said simultaneously, "We're ready."

"We're a lot more disciplined than when we first came here," Celestina said.

"Obviously we've gotten our sugar addiction under control," her sister added.

Claes scoffed and said, "Sure, after four more late-night parties and sugar-induced comas. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to find the two of you to be quite enjoyable company."

The Alvise Sisters raised their tea cups and nodded their heads in silently egotistic thanks. At this moment, Triela entered the room, crossing briskly to her drawer so she could withdraw her pistols and bayonet. Her face was stern and she moved stiffly.

"Triela," Claes greeted her roommate warmly, "Sit down and have some tea with us."

"No time," Triela responded curtly, sheathing her bayonet. "Celestina, Caterina," she addressed the Twins commandingly, "We're leaving in fifteen so get your gear and move." With this, she left the room, picking up her jacket from the bunk on her way out.

Claes and the Twins followed Triela with their eyes as she shut the door loudly. There was a pause, and then Caterina asked Claes, "That's not normal, is it?"

Claes sighed and answered sounding worried, "No. Until recently, Triela would always leave for a mission with a smile on her face. Now, she… she has _things_ on her mind."

At this, the Alvises smirked at each other and rose from the table, leaving their teacups half empty. "That's alright," Caterina said as they made for the door, "We understand.

Claes cocked her head slightly and said quizzically, "I'm sorry?"

"We know when we're not in the loop," Celestina answered, "It's not our business to get involved with our teacher's personal problems anyway."

"We'll see you when we get home, Claes," Caterina said sweetly, waving as she closed the door behind her.

Claes stared after them, eyebrows slightly raised. After a while she rolled her eyes and began cleaning the table. "Now who did that remind me of?" Claes mumbled to herself.

* * *

After the Twins had prepared for their first mission, they were taken to the Piazza della Rotonda in Rome by Triela and Hilshire. The three girls stood out in front of the fountain which was decorated with distorted faces and warped dolphins. The imposing pillars of the Pantheon loomed over them, impressive and forbidding even in the light of the afternoon sun's zenith. Tourists crowded the area more heavily than the pigeons, snapping pictures and talking merrily.

"We're going to have to be really careful about this," Triela commented confidentially, "Only draw your weapons if it's absolutely… oh, right, sorry."

After a little more than a week of being at the Agency, Caterina and Celestina still hadn't updated their wardrobe, and as such, lacked clothing appropriate for concealing firearms. Because of this, they had essentially brought their sidearms for no reason and had to leave them in the van with Hilshire, who was watching the plaza from a distance.

"You couldn't at least give us knives?" Caterina asked indignantly.

"We haven't covered knife play yet," Triela answered, "It would painful for me to watch the two of you swinging them around without knowing what you're doing. You'll just have to manage. Besides, you shouldn't need guns to back me up on this abduction. I've got all the firepower necessary. Are there any other questions?"

"Umm…" Celestina questioned, "What are these for?" She was awkwardly clutching a large bag of breadcrumbs, trying not to spill them. The birds in the immediate area were eyeing her in interest.

"They're for your camouflage," Triela responded, "Feed the birds, have a fake conversation, laugh at nothing in particular; do whatever you can to make it look like you're just two little girls having fun in the plaza." She checked her watch and reported hurriedly, "Okay, the target should be here soon. I'll pick him up at gunpoint while you two keep an eye out for suspicious activity. If you have to communicate, try to do it subtly, understand?" The Twins nodded and Triela finished with a confident, "Okay," as she walked off and began to wander through the crowds.

_This isn't what I had in mind for our first mission,_ Caterina complained.

_Too bad,_ Celestina retorted, _Because this is what we're getting. Just stay focused. Feed some birds._ She gave her sister a handful of breadcrumbs and both began throwing them at their feet. Immediately, flocks of pigeons swooped in and swarmed the scraps. The girls huddled closer together, pretending to be amused.

_Your laugh is so fake, _Caterina mocked her twin.

_Your smile looks Botox-induced,_ Celestina shot back without missing a beat.

Both girls began nudging each other, lightly at first, but with increasing force. Caterina took a breadcrumb and placed it underneath the sapphire ribbon in Celestina's hair, causing several birds to hop onto her head and shoulders braving her arm flapping and annoyed cries. Caterina pointed and laughed, "I think I preferred the bluebirds, _Biancaneve_!"Her giggling was cut short, however, when something small and hard struck her on the back of her head. She clutched the point of impact and looked in the direction that the projectile had come from. Caterina saw Triela standing and staring at them angrily, tossing a pebble up and down in her hand.

By now, Celestina had managed to shake off the pigeons, just in time to nod her head in unity with her sister in an apologetic manner, as if saying, "Alright, we'll get back to work, sorry Ma'am." At this, Triela faded into the crowd again and kept meandering.

As Celestina readjusted her hair ribbon, she paused. _Hey,_ she mused to her sister, _Do you see that man over there at the café, in the red striped shirt, reading the book?_

Caterina stole a quick, inconspicuous glance and spotted the person that Celestina was referring to. _I see him, _she answered.

_He's been on the same page for ten minutes now,_ Celestina said suspiciously.

_There's another one here, _Caterina reported, _ten meters away, on your six, wearing a black double-breasted jacket. He's on his phone, but his mouth isn't moving. He hasn't said a word into it. _

_Look, the Princess has the target, _Celestina told her sister. Triela was pressed up against a middle-aged grey-haired man's back, her hand held low and close against him to conceal the pistol being held to the target's body. She led him toward the van, getting closer to the man on the phone.

_When they get close enough, _Caterina predicted, _The guy on the phone's going to draw his gun._

_And when Princess turns to take a shot at him, _Celestina continued, _The target will draw his weapon, taking her back. The man at the café will close the distance to surround her._

A plan formed between the Twins instantly, and both moved to their positions as quickly as they could without drawing attention. The man who had been pretending to read had stood up and began to move toward Triela. Caterina moved to intercept him, while Celestina approached the target.

In a flash, the man formerly on his phone reached into his jacket and drew what looked like a cheap M1911 knockoff. Triela saw this and reacted quickly, turning away from her detainee to take aim. At the same time, the man at the café reached down and drew a small snubnose pistol from an ankle holster while the target that was previously being held up withdrew a Beretta from underneath his cream-colored dress jacket. Triela was trapped between two guns, with a third approaching to further seal her fate.

She double-tapped the phone-man, putting one bullet through his head and another through his throat, causing him to collapse lifelessly. There was a scream and the crowd of tourists scrambled, some for cover, some to get out of the area, and some with no particular direction whatsoever. Fortunately for the SWA agents, the chaos made it difficult for the bystanders to comprehend what was happening.

The former detainee swung his arm wide, preparing to press the barrel of his firearm to the back of Triela's head. She turned to try and save herself, but she could already tell it was too late. Luckily, Celestina stepped in at this point, blocking the target's arm just short of being level with Triela. In a panic, he fired off two shots into the crowd, so close that Triela's cheek felt the warmth of the muzzle flash. Celestina slammed her right fist into the target's midsection and finished him with a powerful left hook that caught him just underneath his right ear.

The bodyguard posted at the café had closed the distance now, and with his employer unconscious and out of the way, he had a clear shot at Celestina and Triela. He outstretched his arms and tilted his head to line up his targets with the sights of his weapon. The bodyguard squeezed the trigger, but the round went upwards, toward the sky as Caterina seemed to materialize beside him, giving him a swift and powerful kick to the side of his knee, breaking his leg. As he fell towards her, she smashed his temple with a vicious downwards swipe using the back of her fist.

_We have to move, sorella!_ Celestina called to her twin in a rush. Immediately Caterina rejoined her sister and Triela, the former trying to conceal the latter as she bound their target's wrists together with PlastiCuffs. Triela picked the unconscious man up and dragged him quickly toward the awaiting van with dark, tinted windows and fake license plates. The plaza was completely empty now, and dead silent save for the trickling of water from the mouths of the faces and dolphins on the fountain.

Despite there not being any sign of life whatsoever, there was no doubt in Hilshire's mind that there were witnesses watching what was happening right now. There was nothing anyone could do about them at this point, but the Agency would make sure that the media coverage of the incident would be controlled. "At least there's that," Hilshire tried to console himself, to prevent this mess of a mission from being a complete failure in his mind.

The Twins opened the van's backdoors and Triela threw their target roughly into the back. The three girls jumped in with him and slapped the doors behind them. "Let's go!" she called to Hilshire, who caused the van to speed off without a word. He was tense, obviously, and clearly trying to hold in whatever angry comments he had.

Luckily for him, however, the Twins were happy to express his frustration for him. "_Dio mio_, that mission went F.U.B.A.R. fast!" Caterina gasped.

"Is it like this _every _day?" Celestina asked, sounding exhausted.

Triela almost laughed, relieved just to have survived thanks to her two pupils. "Not quite," she said in good humor, "We obviously need to work on our timing, though."


	8. The Cosca Connection

**Chapter 8: The Cosca Connection**

"We're only going to ask you once more: where is the money you stole?" Hilshire questioned the prisoner captured from the previous day's mission. The man in question had stayed unconscious throughout the rest of yesterday, so his interrogation had been put off until the next afternoon. In the meantime, Chief Lorenzo had a stern and hardly controlled reprimanding especially for Triela and her handler. The Alvise Twins, however, were left out of the talk, since the Chief perceived what had happened to be caused more by the mistakes of the mentor than the recklessness of the mentees. The assailed Fratello immediately gave up trying to convince him that the latter was the truth, rather than the former.

Presently, however, Triela stood in the corner of a dreary and bare concrete interrogation room with her arms crossed, staring at the stoic, tight-lipped, middle-aged detainee sitting at the cold, rectangular steel table bolted to the floor in the center of the room. She had remained perfectly still in her corner for an entire hour, observing the man dourly as he was asked the same question repeatedly, each time stubbornly refusing to give an answer.

"Well, in that case, I'll only say _this_ once more," the prisoner replied mockingly to Hilshire's dark warning, "You won't be getting _any_thing from me."

"Believe me you'll want _us_ to be the ones that you confess to. Otherwise we'll have to get someone in here who is much more convincing than we are," this was Hilshire's final warning, made evident by the way he stood and adjusted his navy blue silk tie and nodded to his cyborg, who in response walked to the door and prepared to open it.

"Hmm, since you put it that way," the prisoner responded toughly, "Piss off."

"Aw, that's too bad," Triela said facetiously as she twisted the doorknob in her tight, leather-gloved fist, letting Hilshire out of the room, "That means our time together is up. You'll be spending the rest of your time here with our 'specialists.'"

The prisoner scoffed as he watched Triela and Hilshire leave the room, replaced instantly by a tall, serious-faced blond man and a small, blank-faced girl with short fair hair and empty, deep-blue eyes. "Oh, _very_ scary," he laughed, "I'm absolutely _shaking_!"

Ignoring the sweet irony soon to be formed from that final statement, the exiting Fratello immediately made their way into an adjacent observation room wherein they posted themselves in front of a one-way mirror next to Caterina and Celestina, both of whom had been watching the entire time and currently looked bored out of their minds. "What kind of interrogation was _that_?" Caterina asked insultingly.

"I thought we were supposed to learn something from this," Celestina kept on the harsh criticisms of her teacher.

"Just watch," Triela told them expectantly, "I bet Rico could tear out your deepest, darkest secrets in a matter of minutes using only a stapler."

The following eight minutes and fifty seconds consisted of one of the most disturbing things the Alvise Twins would ever see. Despite the brutality and ferocity with which the detainee was being beaten, it was the person giving the beating that caused the Twins' stomachs to turn. Each time Rico punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed, and hammered, she did so with cold detachment and complete disregard for the prisoner's safety and loss of blood. Somehow, she kept her victim conscious the entire time; only striking him on the head to break his nose, or knock out a tooth. Worst of all, however, Rico didn't seem to change her expression, or even blink once during the entire ordeal, even when her face and clothes were splashed with the prisoner's blood.

At irregular intervals, Jean would stop his cyborg, who held the crying detainee by his hair (for he no longer had the strength to hold his own head up), in order to ask him plainly, "Where's the money?" When he was refused an answer, Jean gave Rico a little nod and the beating was continued.

After eight minutes and fifty seconds, the detainee "caved." He panted and cried, almost incomprehensibly, "Okay, I'll – I'll tell you, just… just get her away from me." Another nod from Jean and Rico released her grip from the prisoner's hair, and thus he commenced his confession. "The money was sent to the _Casinò Regio_ to be laundered… but the owner's been sitting on it for days now."

"This casino is a Padania front then?" Jean asked.

The prisoner nodded tiredly, but was now sounding much clearer and collected than before. "Yes, the entire security force there supports the Republican Faction, and all of their equipment is provided by them, so they are very heavily armed."

"The RF has enough money as it is," Jean continued his interrogation, "So why did they pull off that robbery?"

"Of course the Faction can fund all of its pursuits without the need for jobs like that. The armored car robbery was just an initiation for some new recruits. Most of the people that had a hand in it are putting in temporary work in the casino now until they can be given proper missions."

There was a pause as Jean digested the information in his head. Finally, he said dismissively, "Alright, we're done here. Good job, Rico," he and his cyborg, blood-spattered, but now smiling and happy from the praise, made for the door. Before he left, Jean turned to the tinted observation window and said commandingly, "Somebody get this mess to his cell so he can clean himself up."

"What did we just _watch_?!" Celestina almost whispered, inexplicably afraid that if she spoke any louder Rico would be sicked on her.

Triela laughed, "Is this the first time you've seen Rico in action?" When the Twins nodded, she explained, "She's one of our most efficient girls. Jean's given her very heavy conditioning and harsh training in order to produce absolute loyalty and obedience. It's a good thing she doesn't have a bad side to get on. She's really a very sweet girl as long as she's not under orders to kill anyone."

"Triela, would you mind taking the prisoner to his cell?" Hilshire cut his cyborg's conversation short, "He's going to need to see a doctor soon."

"These are new gloves," Triela protested, holding her hands up for her handler to see, "I'm not going to get them covered with blood…yet."

"Well in that case…" both Triela and Hilshire turned their heads slyly and looked at Caterina and Celestina.

The Twins rolled their eyes. "Of course," they said together without a hint of enthusiasm. Without another word they left the observation room and entered the interrogation room wherein the battered, bloody prisoner sat with his head bowed, his shirt sticky and stained crimson."

"How about I untie him and you drag him to his room?" Celestina offered.

"_Lasci perdere_!" Caterina responded indignantly, "Forget it! _I_ will untie him."

"Hmm…?" the prisoner mumbled quietly and vaguely at the sound of the voices. They seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. He listened more intently.

"Caterina, Celestina," Triela's voice came through a speaker next to the observation window, "Why don't _both_ of you roll up your sleeves and carry the poor man? Oh, you don't have sleeves…never mind then."

As soon as the two names were uttered, the prisoner was dumbstruck. His breathing accelerated and he began perspiring again (he had stopped soon after Jean and Rico left the room). He struggled to raise his head, not out of fatigue, but because a part of him didn't want to see who was in the room with him. When his eyes fell upon the twins, both of whom were still arguing over who should get their hands dirty, he let out a frightened scream, showing more terror than he had felt even when Rico was beating him.

"_Ges__ù_, you're awake?" Caterina said in annoyed incredulity, snapping her attention to the man.

"Stop screaming and go back to sleep," Celestina ordered the prisoner.

"Am I… seeing ghosts?" he asked shakily, more to himself than anyone else, "I could swear you're right here in the room with me."

"That's because we are, _pazzo_," Caterina replied. Both girls advanced toward the detainee preparing to untie him and lead him to his cell.

"No!" the man screamed, "Get away from me!"

"Something's wrong," Triela said, sounding concerned. She looked at Hilshire, but his jaw was set and his brow furrowed in thought, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

The prisoner kicked his feet at the floor, futilely trying to scurry back in the bolted-down chair. He kicked at the bolted-down table, trying to send it flying at the still advancing Twins.

"You really like to make things difficult for people, don't you?" Celestina asked with her hands held up, preparing to block a kick.

"We could shoot you, if that's what you want," Caterina suggested.

"No!" Triela protested through the speaker, "No shooting. Hit him if you need to, just don't shoot him."

"You have to believe me," the prisoner sounded as if he was begging for his life, "Everything that happened was Lino's idea. I only went along because if I hadn't he would have killed me. You understand, don't you?"

"No," both twins responded, completely unaffected by the begging. They dismissed them as the ramblings of a man beaten to madness and believed them to be entirely unrelated to them.

"Lino…" Triela mused, "I…_think_ I've heard that name before… but where?"

Hilshire, however, remained silent, even as he drew a pistol from underneath his jacket and left the room.

"Please," the prisoner was on the verge of tears now, "It was all Lino's fault! He-he thought joining the Republican Faction after what happened at your estate would give him power and protection. He planned the robbery. You'll find him at the casino. You can have your revenge, now please, spare me. We were wrong. Wrong to betray your fath-" He was interrupted as three gunshots exploded in the room and three rounds rocked and shook his frame. The detainee's eyes rolled up and his mouth hung open at an angle as his head tilted sideways to rest on his shoulder. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and from his broken nose down his cheek, both streams converging into one on his chin.

Instinctively, both Twins turned, simultaneously reaching for their weapons (despite still not having holsters), but stopped at the sight of Hilshire standing at the door with the barrel of his weapon still smoking and pointed at the prisoner. He lowered his gun and looked at the Twins sternly. "Go to your room," he commanded them as he walked to the prisoner and removed the now useless restraints, "And don't speak a word of this to anyone. If you're asked what happened, say the prisoner tried to break free and attack you. Triela will speak with you later."

The Twins, more confused and dazed than frightened at Hilshire's firmness, obeyed at once. They left the interrogation room and made their ways wordlessly to the dorms. _What do you think _that_ was about?_ Caterina asked.

_We'll find out soon, _Celestina replied, _Hopefully._

Triela joined Hilshire in the bloody interrogation room. She watched quietly as he placed the untied PlastiCuffs in both of the dead body's hands. "He struck Caterina aside in an adrenalin-filled rage," Hilshire said as if deducing what had happened at a crime scene, "And attempted to wrap his restraints around Celestina's neck. Understand?"

Triela was hesitant to respond. She was scared. Scared that Hilshire would blame her for not recognizing what was going on. Scared that he would tell her that she should have been the one to step in and take action, like she would have in years past. Eventually, she managed to say, "Well, it's not the most airtight story…but since there aren't any security cameras here, the Chief will just have to take your word for it."

Hilshire didn't say anything. He stood up and stepped back, observing the setup, trying to imagine what it would have looked like if the scene he invented had played out into the current outcome: with the prisoner's hands in his lap, grasping the PlastiCuffs violently. "He would have had to do all of that sitting down," Hilshire said doubtfully.

"What should I tell the Twins later?"

"The truth. We can't lie to them at this point; tell them that I shot a defenseless man who was rambling on and on about things that didn't have anything to do with them. No, they need to know now. Explain why I did what I did, what will happen to them if the Agency finds out what they heard, and most importantly _who_ the prisoner was talking to them about."

"Yeah," Triela said forlornly, "I remember now who it was." She turned and made for the exit.

"And Triela," Hilshire stopped her. She turned and looked at him, eyebrows raised, eyes sad, "There's no need to blame yourself."

Triela turned again and left the room. _He really knows me too well,_ she thought to herself. However, she didn't feel any better about what had happened.


	9. The Best Medicine

**Chapter 9: The Best Medicine**

_That name he mentioned,_ Caterina pondered, _Lino…Why does it sound so familiar?_

"It doesn't," Celestina responded calmly, reading nonchalantly from an encyclopedia about flowers that she had borrowed from Claes, "You're only a finding a meaning in his words because you _want_ to find a meaning. The name means absolutely nothing to me, so it should be the same for you." She flipped through several pages uninterestedly before stopping at one. "Oh," she said delightedly, "Aren't these pretty?" she turned the book over and held up a page depicting a twisted bouquet of white, pink, and blood red anemones.

Caterina paid the book no mind. _No, _sorella_, I'm positive the things he said should mean something to us. I just don't know why._

Celestina sighed in frustration. "I'm sitting _right_ in front of you, Little Sister, could you exercise your vocal cords just a bit?"

At this, Caterina snapped to attention, always ready to argue over something petty with her twin. "I'm not the little sister!" she protested with childish fervor.

"How do you know?" Celestina asked impishly with a smile to match.

Before Caterina could retort (though she didn't have one at hand), there were two light knocks at the door and Triela entered the room slowly and cautiously, closing the door in much the same way. "…Hi," she said simply, almost shyly.

"Oh good," Celestina said with mock gladness, "Now that you're here, why don't you convince my paranoid sister that there's nothing for her to worry about?"

"Well…" Triela started doubtfully, "I don't want either of you to worry…but you should be cautious."

"Why?" both sisters asked in unison, though with completely different tones. Celestina sounded suspicious and guarded, whereas Caterina sounded troubled and unsettled.

Triela took a deep breath before she explained. There was no turning back now. "Well," she said again, slowly, "As you know, the Agency does everything it can to keep the cyborgs from learning of their past so they can avoid any complications or mental imbalances. _And_, as you know, the Agency will recondition any cyborgs that have any 'unnecessary information.'"

Both twins nodded, eyebrows raised expectantly. "_And_…?" they both said impatiently.

Triela breathed again and continued from the beginning of their story. "The two of you are the daughters of a human and drug trafficking crime boss in Terni named Pio Alvise. He-"

"Could we get to the point?" Celestina hurried her impatiently.

"Don't be so cold, Cel," Caterina pleaded to her sister, "She's just trying to break the news lightly."

"I'm not cold," Celestina snapped in response, "I just don't like suspense. And besides that, your sense of order is hard to follow. Your storytelling is choppy, to say the least."

"Alright," Triela said soothingly, "I'm sorry about that. I'm just a little nervous, so let's just calm down and go slowly, okay? This isn't the easiest thing for any of us."

"Fine," Celestina acquiesced, "Just, you know, _hurry_!"

Triela continued as requested, trying to stay on track better than she had so far in the talk. Her mind was jumbling up the information and none of it was coming out too clearly. "Pio Alvise's second in command was a man named Lino Baldassare. The night the Agency picked you up was the night that you and your parents were murdered by him."

The Twins stared at her blankly, unsure of how to receive the information. This was their father that they were talking about, the murder of the man that raised them, and yet, they felt absolutely _nothing_. Both of the names were meaningless to them and triggered no epiphanies or onrush of memories. Neither voices, nor faces came to match with the names.

Not knowing the proper reaction to something like this, Celestina scoffed. "Huh," she said, seeming to be on the verge of laughter, "That's…" she couldn't even complete her thought.

"Are you _smiling_?!" Triela exclaimed in disbelief. She turned to Caterina, hoping that she would share her dumbfounded feelings.

Caterina bit her lip. Her eyes narrowed and Triela could see tears forming as her shoulders trembled and she clenched at her dress. Suddenly, her eyes closed and her mouth opened wide, letting out a big cackle, as if someone had just embarrassed themselves in front of her. Her sister followed suit, doubling over and holding her sides in amusement.

Triela's jaw dropped. "What the Hell is _wrong _with you two?!" she yelled at them with a strange mixture of anger and relief, "These are your lives we're talking about!"

Celestina tried to calm herself, wiping a tear from her eye. She managed to gasp in response, "Lives that we've lost. Lives that mean nothing anymore."

Caterina elaborated, hardly able to get the words through, "We thought it would hurt; thought it would be the most painful thing in the world. Remembering, that is. When it finally happened…" she stopped to laugh even more at the thought.

Suddenly, Triela understood. This was the reaction a child gets when they fearfully go to see the doctor and manage to escape without so much as a needle prick; the same reaction as a first-time bungee jumper, whose mind is filled with the thought of falling and dying, only to fall and be hauled back up, hooting and guffawing. In many ways, this was the same reaction the Twins had immediately after their first mission, where they could have lost everything but didn't. Close calls were always funny, apparently.

_Or_, Triela wondered to herself, surprised to find that she too was laughing with Caterina and Celestina, _Maybe they're just crazy. Maybe we're _all_ crazy. Either way, this is better than crying about it._

In truth, she was surprised. Either the girls were stronger than they looked, or they were bottling up their anger and hatred for later. Triela knew which she would be doing in their situation…

Soon, the Alvise Twins began to quiet down, both breathing deeply to catch their breaths. Celestina cleared her throat and asked, "Do you have pictures?"

Triela sniffed, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "Of who?" she asked, "Your father?"

"And Lino," Caterina added.

"Sure, they're in your dossier. I'll go get them." Triela rose from the table at which they were all sitting. She made for the door, but as she reached for the knob, it turned seemingly on its own and the door opened partway. Standing outside was Jean, who looked around the room in his usually stern way. His eyes fell to rest on Triela, who blinked several times in surprise and anticipation. Had he found out what happened?

"Come with me," he ordered quietly. Triela obeyed, but before she left the room she turned to look back at the Twins who were still smiling.

"May God have mercy on your soul," Celestina said jokingly. Triela didn't find it very funny.

* * *

Jean led Triela to Chief Lorenzo's office, wherein were gathered possibly every handler currently employed by the Social Welfare Agency. She stood at the doorway momentarily, looking for a place to sit in the small, overcrowded room. She spotted Hilshire standing in the corner by himself, motioning for her to join him.

"What happened?" he whispered to Triela expectantly.

She responded, "I told them the truth."

"Have you been crying?" Hilshire saw small tear streaks on his cyborg's cheeks and noticed that her eyes were a little red.

"N-no," she explained as she wiped her face with her sleeve, "We were laughing."

Before Hilshire could ask her to explain herself, however, the Chief entered the room and sat behind his desk. Immediately, all conversations stopped, and all eyes were on him. An impressive show of influence, no doubt, but Lorenzo wasn't one for showing off. Things like this just happened by themselves.

"I've called you all here today," he began, lacing his fingers before him, "To discuss a mission related to information we've gathered from one of our recently procured and recently deceased detainees. According to him, the money stolen several days ago from an armored car was taken to the _Casinò Regio_ for laundering, and it is highly likely the money is still there. However, it would seem that this entire casino is run by the Republican Faction, right down to its security force. What I want is to conduct a raid and kidnapping, the goals of which are to acquire the stolen money and the proprietor of the casino."

Chief Lorenzo paused to allow the handlers to discuss the information amongst themselves. It seemed to be a straightforward concept, despite the fact that raids were generally the work of law enforcement. However, all understood that taking the money and the casino owner were simply bonuses that could help build a court case against the Republican Faction, and that the main objective was actually the obtaining of certain valuables at the request of an anonymous politician. In this case, "valuables" was a codeword denoting incriminating material that if made public could ruin the politician's career and life. Apparently, the politician had relied on a personal friend of his to take these materials and lock them deep within his bank's vault. Obviously, the materials never made it that far.

Jose raised a hand and the Chief motioned for the noise to stop (and it did, quite promptly at that). "Is it necessary to bring so many Fratelli for this mission?" Jose asked.

The Chief explained, "The fact that all of the security personnel in the casino work for Padania make sending in the usual two to three Fratelli a dangerous gamble. We need to have as many of our people there as possible in case our cover is blown."

"It seems to me," Jean added, "That this operation carries a high risk of civilian casualties, not to mention a guarantee of leaving surviving witnesses."

"With any luck," the Chief answered, "If it comes to a firefight, the panic and confusion of exploding slot machines will help to drive away any lingering bystanders." At this, the group laughed in unison. They knew, of course, that the Chief would never send any Fratelli on a mission where being spotted was ensured, and that he had a plan to complete the operation smoothly and without alerting the security of the casino. Something had to go horribly wrong in order to incite the worst case scenario.

"Now," Lorenzo concluded, "If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed. The mission is to take place tomorrow at 0800 sharp." As the room cleared, he called out into the crowd, "And Triela, wait here for a moment. I need to speak with you."

Triela did as she was told and took a seat before the Chief's desk. As soon as his office door closed, he removed a folder from his desk and began looking through it.

Triela tensed up as she tried to imagine what the Chief could want with her. Could he have found the connection between the dead informant and Lino Baldassare? Or perhaps he already knows Baldassare works for Padania as was likely working security in the targeted casino?

"I understand," the Chief said without looking up from his documents, "That Caterina and Celestina operate quite well under pressure."

Triela nodded nervously and stammered, "Y-yes, sir. They work faster and more efficiently in training when given a time limit…for example."

"Not to mention the incident at the Piazza the other day," Lorenzo added. At this, Triela became even tenser, but the Chief reassured her, "Don't worry; I'm not here to scold you again. I understand things like that happen and given the circumstances, the girls operated exceptionally."

"Then…what is it you want from them?"

Chief Lorenzo shut the folder and looked Triela in the eye, more as a formality than anything else. "It seems to me," he said, "That the Alvise Twins would make an excellent extraction team. On the mission tomorrow, I want them to wander the casino grounds and if anything goes wrong their mission will be to push through the security forces and recover whichever Fratelli are on the inside. That is, if you believe they're ready for it?"

Triela relaxed a bit, relieved that the matter was so trivial, though surprised that the Chief was asking her permission to put the girls on the field. "If there's anything the Twins understand," Triela replied, thinking back to the moment they had in the dorm room, "It's chaos."


	10. Sighting

**Chapter 10: Sighting**

Caterina sat next to her sister and in front of Triela in the back of one of the Agency's white, unmarked vans, twirling her machine pistol like a cowboy twirling a six-shooter. At the same time she tapped her foot on the floor impatiently – with anticipation – staring blankly into a space in the corner of the van. No one said a word and the only sounds in the vehicle were of Caterina's boots on metal and the clicking of the parts of her gun as it spun around her finger over and over again.

Triela stared uneasily at the rotating Tuma, leaning away from it instinctively. "Don't do that," she finally said to Caterina, sounding concerned and uncomfortable.

Caterina continued to twirl her pistol but looked up from the empty space that she had been staring into and asked somewhat defiantly, "Why?"

"Because," Triela explained, getting firmer, "It'll go off and kill all of us."

_Can you believe how much of a baby she is?_ Caterina commented to her sister as she caught her weapon mid-swing and holstered it under the leather jacket that Triela and Hilshire had given to her last night. Triela had gone out the previous night and come back bearing gifts of men's clothing similar to the kinds that she wore. The Twins were not exactly thrilled, commenting dryly on the fact that they were, in case Triela didn't know, girls. However, they needed a place to conceal their weapons and with their usual silk dresses and flowing gowns, there were no such places.

_If you're so annoyed by it,_ Celestina responded with sly undertones, _Then why did you put your gun away?_

Caterina was slightly flustered when she realized that she had obeyed an order as if it had come from her real handler. "I, um…" she trailed off vacuously, forgetting to internalize her thoughts.

"Hmm?" Triela said inquisitively, "What was that?"

"N-nothing," Caterina answered hurriedly and unconvincingly, shaking her head.

Celestina smiled to herself and shook her head, pretending to be preoccupied with checking the sights of her Zastava pistol. _I won't say anything,_ she reassured her sister, _Because I've got bigger game to shoot_._ I can't waste my energy making your life hell, when there's someone we're about to meet that deserves it so much more than you do._

_Shouldn't we be a little more cautious?_ Caterina warned her sister, _After all, we have a mission. We have objectives that need to be taken care of. If we get reckless, Hilshire and the Princess aren't going to make it out of the casino alive._

Celestina frowned thoughtfully. Her sister was right, and she knew it. She didn't even have a problem with admitting it, although it was rare for Caterina to act as the voice of reason in any situation. Their first and most important goal was to keep Triela and her handler alive if their cover was blown. Getting at Lino would have to be a bonus. Nevertheless, it was a bonus that Celestina planned on earning that day.

"Hey," Triela suddenly said quietly, "Both of you seem a little distracted. Is something wrong?"

_Wow,_ Celestina thought to her sister, _I think she's actually starting to understand us._ And then, out loud, replied to Triela's question with a curt and unconvincing, "No, not really."

Triela looked hard at the faces of the Twins, looking for anything to tell her that this wasn't the case. There was not a line, nor a furrow that indicated something to be out of place. Nevertheless, she sighed contemplatively, almost as if she was speaking to herself, "If you're thinking about Baldassare, I don't blame you. This is a rare opportunity, after, all. Maybe even the first of its kind for any of us cyborgs. But, and I'm telling you this as a sister, you have to stay focused."

Both Twins were stunned into silence. Somehow Triela had managed to pinpoint their exact thoughts. However, they decided to play dumb. There was no way the Twins would let Triela know that she was hitting anywhere close to home. After all, they had to keep up their appearances.

"What are you talking about?" Caterina scoffed in mock ignorance, "We don't care about him."

"We don't even know what he looks like," Celestina added.

Triela raised an eyebrow and examined the faces of her trainees again, and again there was no sign of deception in them. Regardless, she offered this to them, "He's tall, ugly, and brutish-looking with black, slicked-back hair."

The Twins shook their heads in confusion. "Why are you telling us this?" Caterina questioned, perplexed.

Just as confounded, Celestina said, "Didn't you just tell us to forget about Lino and stay focused on our mission?"

Triela replied, smiling at the fact that she had thrown the girls off of their game, "I never said to forget about him. I _want_ you to kill him. It'll be good for both of you. Just remember that when the shooting starts you have to get me out of there."

Caterina and Celestina exchanged a glance and argued in their heads over which of them should say what needed to be said. Finally, they relented, and both turned to Triela and sighed reluctantly, "Thank you…_Princess_." The last word was spat out in disgust by both girls in an attempt to retain their pride. It didn't work, though.

Triela laughed sweetly, like a mother laughing at her children's mischief. "You're both very welcome," she replied smiling, "But I didn't tell you all of that just for your benefit. After all, Baldassare is the bastard responsible for dropping you monsters into my lap. I just want to make sure he's properly rewarded."

The Twins exchanged a worried look. Triela had definitely learned how to deal with her trainees. After this mission, the Alvise daughters swore to each other, the ante would be upped.

* * *

Lino Baldassare sat in the security office of the _Casinò Regio _staring listlessly at the rows and columns of monitors overlooking the tacky, overbearing casino floor (complete with fake marble columns and arches) filled with flashing slot machines, crowded roulette tables, and innocent meat-shields-to-be. The ex-mob-henchman-turned-radical-terrorist/casino-security-guard propped his head up with one fist as the fingers of the other drummed the table repeatedly in a fight to stay awake. It was a fight that his entire body was losing.

"Hey, Lino!" a friendly, teasing voice called suddenly, snapping him to attention, "Stay awake, _brutto_!"

Lino swiveled around in his chair. On the monitor watching the casino's entrance, behind him now, four people entered. Three young girls in expensive leather jackets and a man in a designer suit walked in step to each other, their heads turning this way and that, taking in everything around them. Lino, of course, did not notice.

"You here to relieve me, Nino?" Baldassare asked the man that had approached him. The man, Nino, was tall, lean, and had a face with weasel-like qualities. His eyes were small and beady, his nose was a long and pointed snout, his mouth was a grinning line.

Nino laughed and answered, "Well, no, I came to give you this," he handed Lino a paper cup and the smell of freshly-brewed coffee escaped from the small slit in the lid. "You're shift's not over yet, you lazy fool." Nino laughed again.

Lino sipped the hot coffee, pursing and licking his lips to get every last drop, before he retorted egotistically, "Very funny, but I don't think you have the right to call _me_ lazy. After all, it's only because of me that this piece-of-shit of casino is still open."

"Get over yourself!" Nino scoffed good-naturedly, "That robbery was almost a week ago. I haven't seen any of those brilliant plans of yours since then."

Baldassare sipped his coffee again, and then set the cup down roughly at his desk, shaking his head. "Maybe if Carlo would hurry the hell up and launder the cash we'd be out of here and getting _real_ work," he spat bitterly, "But instead he's sitting with his thumb up his ass and keeping us here running security for a tourist trap!"

On the casino floor the quartet had split up. The older girl went with the man to the back of the room and loitered next to the restrooms. The younger girls were standing next to a blackjack table, watching intently as if waiting for some kind of opportunity. Again, Lino was completely oblivious to these suspicious activities.

"Patience, Lino," Nino said soothingly, "We'll be out and bombing politicians in no time. You just have to – oh, great, it looks like some kids are trying to steal something for Mommy and Daddy."

"What?" Lino turned back to the monitor as one of the girls at the blackjack table reached under an unknowing player's arm and pocketed several chips. "Perfect, now I'm…baby…sitting…" his speech slowed and eventually halted as the girls turned toward the security camera and he caught sight of their identical faces. He was so fixated on the two girls that he didn't notice when the man and the eldest girl slipped into the "Staff Only" section of the casino.

"What's wrong with you?" Nino demanded, "Are you feeling okay? Are you going to make a call or what?"

Baldassare shook himself to attention as a thought occurred to him. He checked the monitors overlooking the streets outside, and grew pale when he noticed several white vans scattered about, each with tinted windows. Knowing that he had to act, Lino turned away from the monitors, opened a drawer at his desk and removed a pistol from within, checking the chamber, switching the safety on, and finally holstering it at the small of his back. He stood from his post, grasped Nino by the shoulders and said in grim earnestness, "There's going to be trouble. Get the entire security force armed and mobilized."

"Why?" Nino questioned, looking at his friend strangely, "For two little girls?"

"These aren't just little girls, Nino. What's that story that those Padania veterans were telling us? The one about that government agency that trains little girls as assassins?"

"You think they're here?" Nino was starting to panic. He never wanted to believe those horror stories, but they were so widespread and so widely acknowledged that he knew they had to be true, "Do you think they're after the money?"

"I don't know, just get ready for a fight."

Nino thought for a second, trying to decide what the Republican Faction would order them to do. "I'll load up the cash in a truck," he finally decided, "You get down there and lead the men. As for civilians…"

"There's no time to worry about them," Lino interjected, "We have to hurry and get out of here so we can report to the Faction. If there are any unarmed and unaffiliated casualties, well, too bad."

Nino suddenly sneered. "That's exactly what I was thinking," he said maliciously, "I'll call you when the truck's ready to go." He then left the security office and went down the hall in the opposite direction of the casino floor.

Lino exited the room as well, but went the other direction from there. He was shaken up, to be sure. After all he didn't see ghosts every day. In fact, he hadn't given a single thought to the Alvises since the night he murdered them. Nevertheless, they had caught his attention now, and, sure enough, the opposite was true as well.


	11. Death Calls

**Chapter 11: Death Calls**

"Do we know _exactly_ where the package is?" Triela asked her partner, "Or are we just going to wander around until we find it?" She and Hilshire had just slipped into the back rooms of the _Casin__ó Regio_ and so far had not run into any problems with security personnel (except for one staff member whom Triela was forced to punch in the throat and stash in a broom closet).

Hilshire replied coolly, "The money should be with the casino's owner, Carlo, probably in a safe or vault somewhere in his office. Remember, if we find Carlo we're to take him with us as well."

"Ugh," Triela groaned, "Can I just shoot him if he tries to run? You know he w-" She stopped as she heard voices coming from a room down the hallway from the Fratello. Both Hilshire and Triela immediately ducked into a nearby conference room to listen.

"There's going to be trouble," a man's voice said, "Get the entire security force armed and mobilized."

Seconds later a thin, rodent-like man emerged into the hallway. He left, walking in the opposite direction of the Fratello, who, through the crack of the barely open door, saw the man draw a pistol from a holster on his ankle.

Hilshire and Triela exchanged a curious glance, but before either could comment on what they had heard and seen, another man emerged into the hallway. This one was a brute, tall, broad-shouldered and thick-necked with black hair and a low brow. He wore a perplexed and worried expression, his face was slightly pale.

Hilshire made eye contact with his partner, who silently mouthed the name, "_Lino!" _Hilshire nodded and reached for the weapon at his side. However, Triela quickly took hold of his wrist and shook her head, a look of concern in her eyes. Hilshire's mouth tightened into a line but he took his hand away from the grip of his SIG. He understood what his partner wanted, and normally he wouldn't allow any sort of sentimentality to interfere with the operation, but this time he understood that he needed to respect Triela's wishes as a handler. He just hoped that the Twins wouldn't suffer for their decisions.

As Lino passed the cyborg and her handler, both noticed the large .45 caliber pistol holstered in the back of his waistband. A few steps later he unholstered it and clicked the safety off as he was joined in the hallway by four other men wearing kevlar and each wielding H&K MP5's. The five armed Padania operatives headed towards the casino floor.

Seeing this, Triela immediately backed away from the door, removed her new cellular phone from the inner pocket of her jacket, and dialed frantically with shaking fingers and hands. She was supposed to keep communication between her and the extraction team to a minimum, however the situation seemed to call for a warning.

"Come on…" Triela muttered in frustration at being forced to listen to the phone ring, "Pick up…pick, up!"

Finally, after what seemed to her like several minutes, but in fact was three seconds, there was a _click_ on the other end of the line and the sounds of the casino rushed through to Triela's end. Celestina's voice came through. "Yeah. I see them," she said simply and calmly, correctly guessing at her handler's reason for calling.

"_What did you do?!_" Triela hissed in a barely contained whisper.

"Nothing!" Celestina replied indignantly, "You know what happens when you make an assumption, don't you?"

"Wait," Triela said, suddenly making a realization, "It was Lino! He probably identified you. Do you see him anywhere?"

There was a pause on Celestina's end of the line, after which came the answer, "No, there are too many guys with guns over here."

"How many?"

"…mmm…twenty-five, thirty? Maybe more."

"Damn, I was hoping you would be able to take Lino out. Listen, Celestina, it's gotten too hot over there and it would too risky to stay there any longer. You need to get out, _now_."

Triela heard now that the sounds of gambling, of chips being tossed about and coins being dropped, had stopped. Because of this, Celestina was forced to whisper her reply, lest she compromise her position. "There's still time," she argued, "My sister and I are taking cover right now. Nobody's seen us. We just need one shot to-"

"_No!_" Triela answered firmly, "It's too danger-"

Suddenly she heard the hiss of Caterina's voice on the other end of the line. "There he is," she whispered ominously. Her voice was steely and cold, like poison dripping from her lips.

Before Triela could reiterate her order, however, Celestina signed off in the same metallic voice, "Sorry Princess. We have to go to work." In the background the sound of Caterina racking her Tuma could be heard just before the final _click_ of the line going dead.

Triela stared at her cellphone dumbly as the sound of gunfire erupted from the casino floor…

* * *

Celestina hung up and drew her Zastava CZ 05. She made sure that a round was chambered and then she clicked the safety off. Without looking at her sister, she asked, _Ready?_

_Of course_, Caterina answered, _Let's make this clean. You take the shot._

_ Are you sure?_

Caterina smiled, _Of course. You're the accurate one, right?_

Celestina nodded, knowing how badly her sister wanted to take the shot, and took aim at Lino, who was talking uneasily with one of the security guards, between two adjacent slot machines. Celestina stood just enough so that she could peak over the machines. Her hand shook.

There was the man who murdered her parents. There was the man responsible for her own murder, as well as that of her sister's. The man who paid back the debt that he owed to the Alvise Family's generosity by putting a bullet into the head of each one of its members. There was Lino Baldassare…right between the sights of Celestina Alvise's gun. But still her hand shook.

_Do it!_ Caterina urged her sister in great anticipation.

There was but another second of hesitation before Celestina pulled the trigger. She watched the hammer of her gun fall, watched the slide fly backwards as fire and gas exploded from the front of the barrel, kicking the gun upwards. Celestina could have sworn that she watched the bullet fly through the air as well, spinning perfectly between the slot machines and across the casino floor to strike her hated, loathsome target, entering behind his left eye and leaving out the right, ending his life once and for all…

…However this was not the case. Celestina's shaking hand caused the bullet to go wide, killing the slot machine behind Lino instead, who immediately jumped in surprise and dove behind cover and out of sight as the man he had been conversing with immediately turned and returned fire with his submachine gun.

The machines around the Twins exploded, sparks and glass and coins rained down upon them. Caterina popped up at the slightest break in the gunfire and retaliated with several quick bursts. Her sister, however, sat stunned with her head clamped tightly between her hands.

"Dammit!" Celestina cried in frustration, stomping the floor in a childish rage, "Dammit, dammit, _dammit_! Goddammit!"

"_Sorella_!" Caterina yelled, "_Sorella_, calm-" she stopped as she caught one of the security personnel trying to sprint to their flank. She quickly tracked him with the sights of her weapon and squeezed the trigger several times, catching him in the torso and throat.

Celestina grunted in frustration as she gained control of herself again. _I'm calm_, she said simply, her voice stone cold and hard set in shame.

Caterina laughed and said, La mia sorella_, if there's anyone you can show weakness to, it's me. I'll never judge you._

Celestina huffed one more time and replied softly, _I know._

_ Let's go to work,_ said Caterina.

Celestina nodded and, knowing that her sister was on the same page, stood up and took the lead. Both girls immediately spotted seven men out of cover and in a fraction of a second divided the targets up between themselves. A few trigger pulls and all seven men lay dead without even firing a shot.

The Twins scanned the blackjack table that Lino had dived behind, but he was no longer there. The sisters advanced down another row of slots when five more hostiles appeared. With two minds working as one, the Twins' already impressive reaction times were decreased by almost half. As soon as the hostiles had spotted the girls the men were killed by them with terrifying accuracy and efficiency.

_That's twelve,_ Celestina reported, _Maybe two thirds of the security force is left._

_ Understood,_ Caterina responded.

The sisters stepped out into an open area of card tables. Seeing the lack of cover Caterina turned around and continued moving backwards to cover the rear. As if on queue a large number of targets emerged from their hiding places as soon as the sisters had gotten halfway to the next set of slot machines.

_Eight, no Lino, _Caterina reported instantly.

_Ten, no Lino, _Celestina reciprocated.

Both sisters immediately began firing and swiveling from target to target, rotating in place like two mounted turrets stationed back to back. Despite the fact that several hostiles had stayed alive long enough to fire off several bursts at the sisters, neither girl sought cover. Consequently, Caterina was hit in the side and Celestina was shot twice in the leg.

Before the Twins could sustain any more injuries, all of the men in the ambush had been dispatched. The girls checked their wounds tenderly.

_I'll be fine,_ Celestina said, testing her weight on her wounded leg, _I shouldn't be slowed down too much. What about you?_

Caterina inhaled sharply, cupping the bullet wound above her hip. Her clothes were already wet with blood, but she stayed standing. _I'm good, _she replied, _It passed right through. Let's move on_.

Celestina didn't ask any more questions. She knew her sister could take the punishment, so both girls resumed their advance.

_That's thirty,_ Caterina said almost gleefully, _A month's worth of work in five minutes!_

_Stay focused, _Celestina cautioned evenly, _We're not done yet._

Despite knowing that only a handful of men remained, both sisters were unsettled by the fact that Lino was nowhere to be found. The break in the shooting allowed the girls to reflect further on how close they had been to having their revenge.

_I should have been able to make that shot,_ Celestina commented in frustration.

_He's not gone yet, Cel, _Caterina consoled her sister, We c_an still get him._

_ If I get to kill him you can keep his head_, Celestina bargained.

_Deal,_ Caterina answered.

The Twins reached the back of the casino. They entered the door marked **STAFF ONLY**, which Triela and Hilshire had passed through only minutes before without opposition. The immediate hallway was empty, however at the first intersection an MP5 emerged from around the corner, forcing the girls to kick down a nearby door for cover just before the submachine gun riddled the hallway with bullets.

The room that the Twins had just entered seemed to be a janitor's closet. On the floor lay an unconscious man who seemed to be stirring in his sleep. Celestina absentmindedly put the last two 9mm rounds in her current magazine into the man's body, which shook and died without any fuss. She reloaded casually while her sister rolled her eyes and peeked into the hallway.

Caterina immediately pulled her head back, though, when she was immediately greeted with another round of submachine gun fire, this time coupled with round from a .45 caliber pistol. "They taped a mirror onto the gun to help them look around cover," she reported.

"Is there any sign of Lino?" Celestina asked.

"Well, there are actually two men in the intersection. One of them has a pistol. It could be him, right?"

Celestina's brow narrowed as she replied, "We'll be killing him anyway. We might as well hope it's him."

Suddenly footsteps reverberated down the hall and the Twins heard a man yell quickly and frantically, "Lino, I've loaded the money into the truck! Let's get out of here!"

The Alvise Twins shared a dark glance and nodded. Together they counted, _1…2…,_ and popped around the doorway.

They saw Lino talking with the thin man wearing kevlar who had run down the hallway. The former spotted the girls, wrapped his arm around the latter's throat and walked backwards whilst firing at the doorway. He missed twice, giving the girls a chance to fire back. However, none of their return fire was able to pass completely through the vest that Lino's former friend was wearing. The man resembling a weasel was killed, allowing Lino to live.

As soon as the third hostile with the MP5 took up his suppressing fire again, the Twins were forced back into the broom closet. Lino took this opportunity to drop Nino's corpse, turn tail, and sprint desperately down the hall.

_He's getting away!_ Caterina yelled helplessly.

Without responding, Celestina lifted the dead guard up from the floor of the closet. "Help me," she grunted simply. She held the body up by one arm while her sister held the other. Together they rushed into the hallway, bearing the corpse in front of them like a shield, and though the guard at the intersection immediately began shooting, his partially depleted magazine ran dry before his fire could get through to the girls.

The Twins dropped their fleshy cover and, while running full speed, fired upon the last guard as if he was simply an afterthought. Despite their wounds they didn't pause, but continued to run down the hallway, desperately hoping to catch Lino before he reached his getaway vehicle.

_If we lose him again…_ Caterina said fiercely.

_We won't,_ Celestina responded resolutely,_ We can't. Not again. Absolutely not…_

The Twins pushed through the back fire escape door, guns raised, just in time to see the back corner of Lino's truck disappear around the side of the casino. They heard the truck's tires squeal as their family's killer peeled out into the street and into safety.

…_Again…_ Celestina finished, all sign of hope gone from her voice. She and her sister stared dumbfounded at the space where Lino had been just seconds before. They could just barely prop themselves up as they felt the energy drain from their bodies…

* * *

"No," Triela said into her cellular phone outside of Carlo's office, "I haven't seen any sign of the Twins." Inside the office Carlo himself was cuffed and held at gunpoint by Hilshire who was already questioning him about the whereabouts of the contents of the armored car.

On the other end of the line Jean's voice came through, "Well there are plenty of signs here of their passing. Thirty plus bodies. All Padania. No civilian casualties."

Triela gave a low whistle, "Are you sure it was them and not _your_ teams? I don't think Celestina and Caterina are capable of-"

"The bodies were here when we entered the building," Jean cut her off.

Triela paused. "Well," she said unsurely, "I don't know what to – wait, here they are."

The Alvise Twins emerged from the rear exit of the casino, battered and broken. Triela could see it in their eyes, and the way they dragged their hollowed-out bodies. She immediately knew what was wrong.

"They're alright, Jean," Triela lied, "We'll be there soon."

She hung up and rushed over to her pupils who walked straight past her without so much as acknowledging her existence. "Are you two alright?" Triela asked, concerned.

Then she saw the blood and holes on their clothes. "You're hurt!" she cried out, "I told you it was too-" Triela stopped when the girls turned toward her.

For an instant she saw the emptiness in their eyes, the pain and suffering, like those of a starving man who had seen food for the first time in weeks but was refused its nourishment and warmth. For an instant she saw how the Twins' arms dangled from their shoulders like useless rags devoid of any life. For an instant Triela knew truly who the Alvise Twins were. But just for an instant.

"Too what?" Caterina asked, beaming, "Too dangerous?"

"You should see the mess we left behind," Celestina continued, smiling just like her sister, "Can you believe that this," she pointed to the holes in her legs, "Was all we got out of that shootout?"

Triela's eyebrows curled up in the middle in an expression of inner pain at being excluded from the girls' feelings. She wasn't buying their act for a second and all three of them knew this. Still, Triela said nothing.

"Triela," Hilshire said, emerging from the office with Carlo ahead of him, "Let's move out. Our friend here has agreed to cooperate, but it would be better for us to take his information back at headquarters."

Before Triela could say anything to the Twins, however, Celestina said, "You go on ahead. We'll catch up with you. We just need to catch our breaths."

Triela didn't argue. She did as she was told and disappeared down the hallway, but not before taking one last look back at Caterina and Celestina who smiled again and waved.

_I'm starting to like her,_ Celestina said sadly.

_Then why did you give me such a hard time about it earlier?_ Caterina challenged.

_I'm your sister,_ Celestina responded, _It's my job._

Both girls followed the direction that their handler had headed. Both remained silent on the outside as well as the inside.

_Are you going to be okay?_ Caterina asked her sister.

_ Of course, why?_

_Well, you were pretty broken up about missing that first shot._

Celestina scoffed and answered, _Please, _sorella,_ I'll be just…fine…_

The Twins came across Nino's body. They stared detachedly. The man had known Lino. Maybe…just maybe…

Celestina rummaged through the dead man's pockets and came up with his personal phone. She turned it on, opened up the address book and scrolled down. The Twins inhaled sharply when they came across Lino's name. Celestina dialed the number and put it on speaker phone. It rang once. Twice. And then…

"…Hello?" Lino's voice came through hesitantly, hoping to hear his friend's voice even if he was cross with the way he had been used.

Celestina and Caterina hesitated. They conversed with one another internally for an instant.

"Hello?" Lino said again, more insistent this time.

There was another slight pause, but this time Celestina answered quietly, almost sweetly, "Lino…"

"…" Lino was speechless for a moment due to fear, "This…this is…"

"That's right, Lino," Caterina answered simply in a tone that was darker and heavier than her sister's.

"You should be dead," Lino said, his voice quavering.

"And so should you," Celestina responded, "But not to worry…"

"…You will be," her sister continued for her seamlessly.

"We're going to find you, Lino…"

"…And when we do…"

"…We will tear you apart, piece…"

"…By…"

"…Piece…"

Caterina took a deep breath before continuing, "They'll never find all of you…"

"…We'll make sure of that," Celestina said.

"Until then…"

There was one final pause before both sisters spoke simultaneously, one quietly and sweetly, the other heavily and darkly. "Live well, Lino Baldassare."

The Twins hung up…


End file.
